


Golden Eyes

by Ripped_Untimely



Category: Het huis Anubis | Das Haus Anubis | House of Anubis, House of Anubis
Genre: Ancient Egyptian Literature & Mythology, Angst, But I swear there is a good reason for it, F/M, Gen, Jealousy, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mystery, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Romance, Stupid jealousy, interfering gods
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-01
Updated: 2015-03-01
Packaged: 2018-03-15 20:45:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 32,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3461426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ripped_Untimely/pseuds/Ripped_Untimely
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been two weeks since the events of season 3 and the House of Anubis seems to be in a state of normality. But when Eddie's Osirian senses start tingling and a certain someone returns to the UK, will anything ever be the same again?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Spidey senses aren't the only ones that tingle

**Author's Note:**

> These characters belong to Shine and Nickelodeon. I make no profit from this fic (sadly). It's also completely unbetaed, so is in all likelihood riddled with mistakes-sorry!

Fabian Rutter sat on his bed, staring down at his phone. It had been two weeks since he’d almost helped to destroy the world, two weeks since Ammut had been defeated. He had been putting off this moment for far too long. He pressed call and listened to the dial tone impatiently. Finally, he heard the call being picked up, and a familiar voice on the line. 

“Fabian? Is that you?” Nina’s muffled voice asked. In the background the robotic voice of an announcer rang out.

“Nina? Where are you? Your voice sounds all funny?”

“Hold on a sec- Damn that’s the- Sorry!” Nina’s voice was suddenly silenced as the call was cut off

Putting his phone back in his pocket, Fabian considered what had just happened. It sounded like Nina was in a train station, but why would she be? Hadn’t her main reasoning for not returning to Anubis been to look after her Gran? Why would she be travelling around America?

Suddenly he was roused from his quandary by the noisy entrance of Eddie. He charged through the door like a bull, skidding to a wobbly holt right in front of Fabian.

“In a rush there Eddie?” Fabian teased. Then he saw Eddie’s face. It was the same face he had worn the day of K.T’s arrival, the time he had his first ‘day-mare’. It was the face he pulled when his weird Osirian part was affecting him.

“You know how Nina and I have some freaky Egyptian destiny connection?” Eddie began shakily. Fabian nodded stiffly.

“Well during last year I had this weird feeling the whole time, like a part of me was missing. At first I thought it as just the break up with Yacker, but it was still there once we got back together. Then yesterday it started feeling different, like something was changing. And about 5 minutes ago, I started feeling strange. Like I was almost whole again. So, I know this sounds really creepy, but do you think there’s any chance Nina is back in England?” 

“Yes.” Fabian affirmed.

“I know, it’s crazy but it was the only thing I could- wait , did you just say yes?” Eddie whirled around in shock. 

“Yes,” repeated Fabian “I honestly do think that she’s back. I just spoke to her on the phone and she sounded like she was at a station. And if your Osirian senses are tingling, then that just confirms my suspicions.”

Eddie grinned and stopped pacing the room, throwing himself back on his bed. He leant over to the bedside table the two boys shared, pulling out the Eye of Horus. 

“So what do we do?” he said, twisting the chain around his fingers fondly. 

Fabian pushed down the burning jealousy he felt at seeing Eddie make that simple gesture. It was just her locket. It wasn’t Nina Eddie had twisted round his little finger. He tried to think logically.

“I think it might be time to call a certain group of people back together.”

***

The members of Sibuna piled into Eddie and Fabian’s room, squeezing into the tiny space.  
“So what is it then?” Patricia asked, looking round the room. “The world doesn’t seem to be imploding Fabian, so what’s bad enough for you to interrupt Trudy’s cookies?”

Eddie laughed, until Fabian shot him a look. He stood up and started to pace again. Fabian glanced at the locket still dangling around his friends neck, before launching into an explanation.

“I called Nina today,” he began. K.T shot him a pitying look, and Alfie looked nervous.

“Is she okay?” asked Alfie, and for once there was no joke in his voice.

“Yes, she’s fine. I didn’t actually get to speak to her for very long. But we,” he gestured to Eddie. “Think that she’s on the move. We think she’s back in the UK.”

There was a moment of silence, before the other three burst in with protestations. It seemed impossible to them that Nina would return without telling them, especially if it meant putting their lives in danger. K.T’s voice won out, and once the others had quietened down, she spoke.

“Are you sure you don’t just want her to be coming back Fabian?” she asked tentatively.

Fabian glared at her, and opened his mouth to argue. But before he could, Eddie burst in angrily. 

“It’s not just Fabian being delusional!” he said, his voice edged with irritation. “I can feel her!”

“Feel her? Get real Slimeball, you’re not Harry Potter.” Patricia said snarkily. She obviously wasn’t ecstatic at the idea of her boyfriend being able to ‘feel’ another girl’s presence. 

Eddie stopped pacing and stared at her, Eye of Horus in hand. He had been through so much over the last year, he didn’t need his girlfriend to be jealous of the girl he was genetically programmed to protect. He was about to make a sarcastic comment back, but something stopped him. He could faintly hear the others asking if he was okay, but it was like all of his senses had formed a tunnel, and nothing else could get in. In his mind’s eye, he could see a pair of bright green eyes. They blinked, and he realised who they belonged to. 

“She’s here.”

Eddie bolted out the door. The rest of Sibuna looked at each other bemused. With Fabian in the lead they followed Eddie out into the entrance hall. 

“Eddie, is something wrong?” K.T asked. She had seen his face when Patricia made fun of his Osirian powers, and she was worried. If you save the world with someone, you get to know them pretty well.

Eddie stared at the front door, transfixed. The rest of the gang stood stock still, half looking out for Victor, half listening. Then they heard it. The slight crunch of gravel on the driveway outside. The footsteps got closer until they heard the front door open. 

“Victor really ought to lock that when he goes on the prowl at night” whispered Alfie earning himself a swift nudge in the ribs from Patricia. 

The inner door creaked as it opened, and the person opening it gasped when they saw the group gathered.

“Well hey!” she said, giggling. “I’m Nina. Back from America.”

The tension broke immediately. Fabian’s face split into a wide grin as he shyly raised a hand to say hello. Patricia and Alfie smirked at the old joke and K.T smiled at the girl she’d heard so much about. Only Eddie still looked concerned, as if he was waiting for something. 

Fabian took a step forward, ready to pull her in for a hug. Too late, he saw her eyes go vacant and her knees unfold beneath her. He dived to catch his best friend, but Eddie got there first, cradling her in his arms. 

Patricia desperately attempted not to glare at Eddie as he gently held one of her closest friends. She knew that she had put him through a lot over the last year, and most of it was caused by her inherent jealousy of other girls. But as she saw Alfie and K.T share a look of surprise, it was hard to ignore her anger. She settled instead on watching Nina’s eyelids flutter violently.

Suddenly the dirty blonde took a great shuddering breath of air and opened her eyes. Instead of leaping out of Eddie’s arms as was expected, she raised her head slowly. Looking solely at him, she jokingly asked, 

“Busy year?”

All the worry and fear left Eddie’s face as he saw her smirk at him.

“You have no idea” he teased, before pulling her into a tight hug. In that moment, both of them could acknowledge that the part of themselves that had been missing for so long had been returned. They were complete.

After an uncomfortable few seconds where it became clear the two weren't in any rush, K.T awkwardly cleared her throat. 

“Hey, I’m K.T,” she said, holding out her hand. “I guess I kind of took over the ‘clueless girl with a connection to the house’ spot while you were gone.”

Finally letting go of Eddie, Nina laughed, and took K.T’s hand to shake.

“I bet you won’t mind relinquishing that position!” she joked, before turning to Alfie and holding her arms out. He squeezed her close, as she whispered loudly in his ear,

“I hear your zombie theory may have come in handy this year ‘Alf-myster’?”

Even Patricia had to laugh at that, and when Nina ran over for a hug she didn't refuse. It was a lot easier to be nice to the girl when she wasn't wrapped around Patricia’s recently re-acquired boyfriend. Then Nina turned to Fabian, and it was all Patricia could do not to just shove their faces together and get it over with.

“I missed you.” Nina said simply.

Blushing slightly, Fabian moved towards her, desperately trying to stay steady. 

“I missed you too.” he stuttered out. This was it. Finally, after a year of worry, he was going to get his girlfriend back. He would kiss her, and it would be amazing, and he could end the year happy. Nina closed the rest of the gap between them, letting her eyes flicker down to his lips. He only had to lean in now. Just lean in and kiss her.


	2. The mystery begins...slowly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie is a cock-block, Nina has a secret and Jerome categorically does not want to know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All characters belong to their respective creators. I make no money. Any references that you notice are references belong to the referenced reference.

“Nina, does Vicky know you’re back yet?” broke in Eddie loudly, and the moment was lost. Fabian was torn between grabbing Nina anyway, or strangling Eddie in the most slow and painful way possible. 

“It’s just that if he doesn’t, we should really get you out of here. He’s been on edge since he was almost eaten by a demonic goddess.”

“Good point.” Nina said, turning away from Fabian. “I’ve got the option of a scholarship here again, but I rushed over so fast I kinda forgot to take it. Do you guys think I could hide out somewhere tonight and call Sweety tomorrow?”

“Sure thing Miss Chosen One” teased Eddie. “You can stay in me and Fabian’s room”

Patricia let out an indignant “Excuse me?” while Alfie and K.T began to list the problems with the idea. Even Fabian looked unimpressed, although that might be because his best friend seemed to have invited the girl Fabian wanted to date (again) to sleep in his room.

“Okay, Okay” Eddie broke in. “So nobody’s down with that idea. Jeez.”

“It was a sweet idea Junior, but maybe not the best,” Nina explained kindly. “Why don’t I just sleep in the antechamber tonight, and then I’ll arrive” She made exaggerated air quotes with her hands, “tomorrow.”

It sounded fair enough, especially to a bunch of tired teenagers, so after helping Nina carry her bags down to Frobisher-Smythe’s study, the group disbanded and headed to bed.

*** 

Fabian lay back in his bed, watching the moon through a chink in the curtains. He should be on top of the world right now, but he felt worse than before. He kept running over the evenings events in his mind, wondering why Eddie had stopped him kissing Nina. It was as though his suspicions of a summer romance where becoming reality. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Eddie stumble out of bed and creep out. “Probably going to fix a midnight snack” he thought, before rolling back over to sleep. 

*** 

Nina padded quietly around the familiar green carpeted room. She didn’t know if it was joy at being back where she belonged, or the newly whole feeling she had, but she just couldn’t sleep. She carefully lifted the portrait of Robert off the wall, stopping to stare into the eyes of the man her friends had battled against. She felt sure Sarah would be pleased her father could return to Egypt, but she wished it could of happened under different circumstances. 

Leaning the picture up against the moth eaten armchair, she ran her fingers over the amulets hanging behind it. She smiled at the memory of Alfie seeming to smash one to trick Victor, and later, once the mystery was over, symbolically returning them to where they belonged. She had hoped that it would be over after that. No more freaky burning marks, or life threatening curses, just normal teenage life. But no, the universe seemed to have endless ways to play with her mind. 

Re-hanging the portrait, Nina moved over to the book shelf containing Robert’s journals. She was just considering getting a few out, in the hopes of being sent to sleep, when she heard a creak from behind her. Pulling out a heavy encyclopaedia , she slowly turned around, only to see the hidden door begin to spin. 

*** 

Eddie entered the tiny room, only to be greeted by an angry Nina, brandishing a book.

“Whoa there Annie Oakley!” he grinned. “You might injure someone with that much information!”

Nina stuck her tongue out, dropping her arm. “You scared me,” she sighed. “I thought you were Victor!”

“I don’t know whether to be pleased I made an impact, or deeply hurt you thought I was Vicky.” Eddie teased. He decided on hurt, clutching his hands to his heart and flopping back onto the armchair.

“You look constipated.” Nina stated, before leaning back onto the row of chairs behind her. “So what’s up?”

Eddie looked at her, before plunging his hand into his pocket.

“I figured you might like this back.”

Nina gasped at the sight of her locket. 

“You didn’t lose it!” she exclaimed “Was it useful? Because you could keep it if you like? I kind of failed my Chosen One duties last year.”

Eddie looked at her incredulously before taking her hand and firmly placing the Eye in it. It glowed briefly when it met her skin. Without letting go, Eddie glanced up at her.

“Failed?” he asked. “Nina, you couldn’t fail at anything if you tried. But seeing as you brought it up, what happened last year? You managed to duck out of explaining upstairs, but this is me.”

“Osirian” she quipped. Eddie dropped her a wink, before gesturing for her to continue. 

“Okay, fine.” she gave in. “ Before I met up with you in the summer, something weird happened. It was just before Gran got ill, and I was walking home when this skinny blonde woman started following me. I started to run away, but she yelled out “Paragon” at me. Then she told me that I would cause a my friends great danger if I returned to Anubis House. I stopped to listen to her after that, and she gave me this book. She said it explained how the Osirian and the Chosen one couldn’t be together. Then she went sprinting away.”

Nina squirmed uncomfortably, then continued. “I checked through every page of that book, I swear. But it said that there was no way for us to be near each other without causing chaos.”

“So how are you here now?” Eddie asked. “I mean, no complaints, especially from Fabian. But if we’re going to blow up the world..?” he trailed off.

Nina carried on, trying to cover her blush. “That’s just it. A week or so ago, I had a vision. I was in this dark, stone room. There was this huge, screaming woman, flying around in this cloud of smoke. There was someone kneeling on the floor, and when she looked up I saw it was the same person who’d approached me. She was saying something about taking over the world together. 

Eddie jumped, shocked. “Denby?!”

Nina shrugged, and kept talking “Then I saw you and K.T come sprinting in, and there was a huge flash, and everything vanished. At first I thought something had gone wrong, but then I heard a voice. It sounded just like Sarah, and it just kept repeating the words ‘Go home Chosen One. All will be well.” 

She shifted in her seat, cold. Eddie moved over and slung a friendly arm around her. Nina grinned up the boy, green eyes meeting brown. 

“Well, I have to admit, while I did a pretty awesome job saving the world, it is pretty cool to have my other half back.”

“Don’t let Patricia hear you say that!” giggled Nina. “It took you long enough to get back with her this year.”

Eddie blushed a bright red. “How did you know about that?” he spluttered. “Has Amber got cameras in my room or something?”

Nina laughed again. “ My little faint-vision didn’t just show me the action Eddie.” she teased. 

“What about Fabian then?” Eddie countered. He let out a guffaw at the shade of pink Nina went before continuing. “He’s been moping after you all year, especially since he read that letter. And you two looked like you were about to jump on each other earlier- Argh!”

Eddie was cut off by a pillow colliding with his face. “What was that about?” he demanded.

“That’s for writing a fake break-up letter!”


	3. Explosive events

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fabian is ridiculous, Mara is confused, Nina gets an unfortunate surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I own nada. Mi espanol es muy mal.

Eddie awoke, bleary eyed to the sound of his girlfriend’s raised voice.

“It’s alright Fabian, I’ve found him. You might want to take a look at this though.” Patricia yelled up the stairs. 

He raised his head slightly and realised he was still in the antechamber. His neck ached from laying on the hard floor all night, but he had a feeling that would soon be the least of his problems. Sitting up stiffly he caught sight of Nina, curled up in the armchair, still sleeping. He smiled to himself, silently amused at her contorted form. Then he heard hurried footsteps clattering down to the cellar. He turned to the door just in time to see Alfie, K.T, Fabian and Patricia burst into the small room.

“What is going on here?” Fabian rumbled, every syllable punctuated with little contained rage. Eddie saw his eyes survey the situation, face contort into a jealous mask. He honestly couldn’t see the problem; he and Nina were over a metre apart, and both fully clothed. Something told him it wasn’t the best moment to point this out though, so he stayed silent, avoiding his best friends gaze. Three awkward seconds passed, and Eddie felt everyone’s eyes on him. Their gaze was suddenly diverted by a shriek from the other corner of the room.

Nina jerked awake with a loud shout of “Senkhara!” Fabian’s face immediately softened, and with a final glare at Eddie, he crossed the room to the shivering girl. Patricia however, was not so easily distracted.

“Answer the question Slimeball.” she demanded. As it no longer seemed that Fabian was about to punch him into the Egyptian afterlife, he figured it was safe to answer.

“Calm it Yacker, I just got worried about Nina after her little fainting spree,”

Nina attempted to interject at this, but Eddie shot her a look.

“We just got talking and I guess we fell asleep. Separately.” he stressed, heaving himself up and wrapping his arms around her. He pulled her in until they were face to face, before whispering, “I’m a one girl guy Yacker.”

Alfie surveyed the two with distaste. Nina and Fabian were huddled up whispering in the corner, and he sensed K.T was beginning to feel like a total gooseberry. He decided it was time for a distraction.

“Couple overload, alert!” he yelled, causing Nina to leap away from Fabian. Seeing that his actions hadn’t affected Patricia and Eddie in the least, he huffed out of the room, muttering something about finding Willow before school.

“We should probably head off.” Fabian announced. He looked reluctant to leave Nina, but it was getting late. She nodded in agreement, and sat back down.

“I’ll give Sweetie a ring today. Hopefully I can sleep in a bed tonight!”

K.T grinned at her, then grabbed Patricia’s arm, pulling her upstairs. Fabian went to follow, but paused, and waited for Eddie to leave the room first. The blonde rolled his eyes, but dutifully wandered out just ahead of his roomate. This time, Fabian wasn’t taking any chances. 

***  
Nina was bored. She had been cooped up in the antechamber all day, and she could hear Victor creeping around upstairs, so there no chance of sneaking out. She’d called Mr Sweet hours ago, and confirmed her return to Anubis House, so at least she’d be able to act normally later.

Getting up to stretch her legs, she felt her eyes were again drawn to the portrait of Robert Frobisher-Smythe. She hesitated for a second, before grabbing an amulet, and turning to the bookshelf. Quickly rearranging the diaries, she spun round with the hidden door, waiting for the blinding golden beam to finish scanning. Nothing happened. She squinted at the spot it usually came from, but the tiny slit was blocked up. There were slight char marks around the edge. 

“Eddie.” she chuckled, looking around for any other changes. She spotted the little door he had told her led to Frobisher’s tomb, but nothing else. Not quite understanding why, she set off through the maze of challenges.

*** 

Eddie knew he was in trouble. Fabian had been ignoring him all morning, and Patricia was still shooting him suspicious looks. K.T was studiously avoiding him the hope Patricia’s anger wouldn’t refocus on her, and Alfie had been attached to Willow all day, making the most of the lack of Egyptian death challenges. 

By fifth period, Eddie had had enough. He decided to sneak back to Anubis and check on Nina before school ended. That way he could ask her to calm Fabian down and actually be able to sleep without worrying his roommate would throttle him. 

Hurriedly he changed the combination, and headed into the antechamber.

“Hey Nina!” he called out before stopping dead. She wasn’t there. Why wasn’t she there? He spun around, as though she might hiding under a table. Instead, he noticed the portrait leant up against the way, and a gap where an amulet should be hanging. He rolled his eyes, and headed after her.

Nina was standing in front of the fake mask when Eddie caught up with her. With her face illuminated by the golden glow, she really did look like some kind of mythical being. Eddie had never really understood Fabian’s attraction before, but as she turned around, a soft halo of light around her head, green eyes twinkling, Eddie couldn’t help grinning.

“Not planning on leaving us again are you?” he quipped. Nina caught sight of the golden outline and blushed. 

“Just thinking. It’s hard to believe you guys went through a whole new mystery last year, and I didn’t even know.”

“Are you still feeling bad about that?” Eddie asked, stepping closer. She shrugged, before turning back to the mask. 

“I just can’t help feeling I’ve missed something. And, I had a dream last night.” 

Eddie looked at her sharply. “A dream? What about? Why didn‘t you mention it this morning?”

“I wasn’t sure it mattered then. But looking at this,” she gestured to the mask. “it’s becoming a lot clearer. It felt just like the ones Sarah used to send me.”

“But what happened?” Eddie repeated urgently.

“It was just loads of interlinked images. I kept seeing the mask, and Victor’s ring, and me shooting lightning at Joy. And Joy coming back to life.” she shifted uncomfortably. “ And you kept appearing. From when you were banishing Senkhara from my body.” 

Eddie ran his fingers nervously through his hair. Nina was obviously pretty cut up with guilt. It couldn’t be easy to have visions of yourself accidentally almost murdering someone while being possessed. He never knew what to do in situations like this. He settled on the way he would of handled Patricia; good old fashioned teasing.

“Dreaming of my heroic ways are we Sparky?” he joked.

Nina raised her eyebrows. 

“Sparky?” she asked. “Because of the lighting? How original. I might as well call you Sweety.” 

Eddie stuck his tongue out, before looking at his watch.

“School’s over. We better head back and deliver the wonderful news to Victor. I’m sure he’ll be overjoyed!”

Now it was Nina’s turn to stick her tongue out. She followed Eddie back down the tunnel, but just before they entered the antechamber, she paused.

“Eddie?” she asked. “Can we keep my dream between us for the moment? I don’t want to worry the others if it’s nothing.”

Eddie laughed “Sure thing Sparky. Now, lets go!”

***

Nina and Eddie were sitting in the kitchen, laughing with Trudy when the rest of the house arrived back from school. Oblivious to the glare Patricia directed at her, Nina happily let herself be engulfed in a group hug. The Anubis residents clamoured as one, until Jerome managed to speak up over all of them. 

“Everything okay then Martin?” he asked meaningfully. Mara and Willow looked slightly confused, but Nina understood.

“Everything is perfect.” she grinned, before turning back to answer Mara’s questions. The noise rose to a crescendo until Victor stomped into the kitchen and bellowed over the ruckus.

“I hope, Miss Martin, that your return will not be heralded with a detention.” 

Nina met his gaze, and answered. “Me too Victor. I don’t enjoy being under someone else’s control. If you know what I mean.”

The caretaker’s eyes grew wide. He set his face into a grimace, and walked back out of the kitchen. 

“Same old Victor!” Nina giggled.

Fabian shifted from foot to foot, trying to work up the nerve to do what he had to do. Finally he tapped Nina on the shoulder. 

“Could I talk to you for a second Nina?” he stuttered. 

Nina looked at him expectantly, as did the rest of the room. 

“Alone.”

Huffing slightly the group dispersed. Once the room was empty, he opened his mouth to speak. 

“So, I was wondering..” he began. But then he hesitated. Nina had been alone with Eddie all night last night. And they had been together when he’d got back from school. Could there be something happening. He looked into Nina’s green eyes, and pressed on in a rush. 

“The thing is I still really like you and I know you said that we should move on but that was when you thought you had to stay in America and now you’re here and you did say I was your first real love and I told you last year you were my Chosen One so I guess what I’m trying to say is will you go out with me?”

He let out a deep breath, and waited nervously for her response. It wasn’t quite the one he was expecting. Nina tugged him into a soft kiss, and suddenly it didn’t matter that she and Eddie seemed to be abnormally close. Nina Martin’s lips were pressed against his, and he never wanted it to be any different. 

……………………………….................***………………………………................

Later that night, Fabian lay happily in his bed, gingerly running a finger over his lips. His was roused from his cheerful thoughts by the creek of his roommates bedsprings. Sitting up, he came face to face with Eddie, who appeared to be trying to sneak out. Again.

“Off somewhere Eddie?” he asked suspiciously. Eddie jumped about a foot in the air, before turning to face him. The blonde shifted his posture in an attempt to look casual, but his shaking hands gave him away.

“Oh, yeah, just, umm, getting a glass of water.” he whispered, trying to keep still.

Fabian looked at him hard, and for a second he looked just like he had as a sinner.“You seem very nervy.” he stated.

“Nervous?” Eddie repeated uncomfortably. “What? No! Just, um, really thirsty!”

Fabian stood, and squared up to the boy. He was just about to ask what was really happening, when Eddie sprinted out of the room. Fabian ran after him, and saw him run up the stairs towards the room Patricia, K.T and Nina shared. He followed him into the room, just in time to hear a sleepy Patricia ask “What are you doing Slimeball?” in an indignant voice. Eddie ignored her, and ran over to where Nina lay. He picked her up, wrapping his arms around her waist, and lifted her off her bed. 

“What do you think you are doing?” Fabian spat. Eddie blanked him, bolting out of the room and down the stairs. Patricia, Fabian and a confused K.T gave chase, and saw him sprint out of the front door. 

They ran out onto the lawn a few seconds after, just in time to see Nina explode into a supernova of golden light. 

Fabian let out a cry of “NINA!” and made a dash for her, but K.T held out an arm to stop him.

“Look!” she screamed and Fabian followed her gaze. In the centre of the blast, a faint blue glow was emanating from Eddie. As they watched, it grew brighter and stronger, until it nearly covered the gold. Finally, it blazed violently, and then, with a blinding flash, the grounds were shrouded in darkness once again.

Eddie fell to his knees, still clutching Nina to his chest.


	4. Riddles again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alfie's confused, Nina is tired and K.T hates dusty old rooms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters belong to Shine and Nickelodeon. I have no money.

Sibuna sprinted towards the hunched figure of Eddie, but he yelled for them to stay back. Beside him lay Nina, eyes still shut, body unmoving.

K.T began to cry silently. Fabian stared, wide eyed, but couldn’t seem to find his voice. Patricia gazed at Nina’s lifeless form, disbelieving. This couldn’t be happening. They had only just found Nina again, she couldn’t just die. 

“Do something.” she pleaded. 

Eddie looked up at his girlfriend with broken eyes, before tipping Nina’s head back gently. Opening her mouth slightly, he began blowing breath into her. While at first his efforts were gentle, he soon began to panic, pumping her chest faster and faster in desperation. After a few minutes of only his breathing, and the soft sound of K.T’s weeping, Eddie pulled back. He watched the face of his Chosen One, praying to whatever god was listening that those flickering eyelids would open. 

Wait. Flickering? 

With a shuddering breath, Nina Martin sat up. For a second, she merely blinked at him, before falling forward into his open arms, sobbing.

***

Breakfast the next morning was close to silent. Mara and Willow had taken off early to work on a project, and those who had witnessed the events of last night were downcast. Nina had swapped her old spot at the head of the table for one next to Eddie, and was obviously exhausted. As she attempted to pick up the water jug for the third time, Jerome came to her rescue. Pouring her a glass, he voiced everyone’s thoughts, 

“Something going on with the Scooby gang?”

Alfie’s head shot up. He squinted around, confused, as though he had only just noticed his friends mood. Fabian barely glanced at Jerome, merely shaking his head before returning to his cereal. 

Jerome and Joy shared a knowing look, before following Alfie’s example. Over the last few years they had been accidentally involved with too many life threatening mysteries. They were staying out of whatever this was. 

***

Alfie caught up with everyone on the way to school. It wasn’t hard, as Nina was practically being carried between Fabian and Eddie. He got straight to the point.

“Why don’t I know what’s going on?” he demanded. 

The group looked at him, considering. Finally, Nina answered.

“To be honest Alfie, I don’t think we know what’s going on. Last night, I apparently turned into a golden ball of light and almost died. Then Eddie turned into a blue ball of light and brought me back to life. So now we’re all really tired, and really confused.”

Alfie blinked. 

“Oh.” he muttered. “Nothing big then..”

Nina managed to dredge up a small smile, before turning to everyone else. 

“Seriously guys, what are we going to do? What if this is what happens when Eddie and I are together? What if this is how I cause some huge disaster or whatever?”

Fabian and Eddie both went to comfort her at the same time, earning Eddie a hard stare. After an awkward moment, Fabian spoke.

“I think the only thing we can do right now is research. We’ll meet up after school and check to the Frobisher Library.”

“And the antechamber,” Eddie broke in. “Robert’s diaries might have some information.” 

“But we can’t all vanish into the antechamber for ages, then sneak off to a closed library.” K.T pointed out. “It’ll look really weird. We’ll have to split up.”

“Okay then Freddy.” Alfie teased. “Why don’t you take Velma and Daphne, and me and Scooby’ll head off to the abandoned lighthouse.”

“Actually, that’s not a bad idea,” Fabian began, as K.T rolled her eyes. “I mean, not the Scooby-doo part obviously. But Nina and I can have a look at the antechamber, and you guys could check the library.”

“Maybe I should come to the antechamber too,” Eddie chimed in. “Just in case.” 

Fabian looked as though he was about to argue, but Nina squeezed his hand, and he just nodded, albeit a little stiffly. 

Lessons seemed to drag by, but finally the bell went for the end of school. 

“Does everyone know what we’re looking for?” Fabian checked.  
“Anything concerning the Chosen One, the Osirian and giant glowing lights.”Patricia reeled off obediently.

“Sibuna?” Nina asked

“Sibuna” everyone replied, before taking off in their different directions.

***

 

“How many old crumbly buildings does this school have?” K.T exclaimed as she followed Patricia and Alfie into the library. 

Spreading out quickly, they each began sorting through the hundreds of books lining the walls. Apart from the occasional cough, the room was silent for a while. Patricia was just closing a particularly dull tome on Ancient Egyptian knots, when K.T let out a squeal.

“I think I’ve got something!” she cried as the others rushed over. “Look, right here: ‘As the Paragon and her protectors powers advance, they will begin to experience the melding of thoughts, creating a stronger bond between them.”

“Melding of thoughts?” Alfie echoed. “What does that mean? Are they going to like, mix minds or something?”

“Mix minds..”muttered Patricia. “Alfie, you’re a genius!”

“I know.” he grinned, smugly. “Now, remind me why..”

“Mixing minds! They’re going to be able to communicate telepathically!”

***

Meanwhile, in the antechamber, the atmosphere was not quite as jovial. Fabian didn’t quite know why he was still angry at Eddie, especially as the guy had saved Nina’s life last night. There was just something about the way he was acting around her; the little looks they shared, the way he would touch her hand for a second longer than necessary. It reminded him of how he had acted when they had first met.

He was distracted by Nina giving a little gasp. He whipped around, but Eddie had beaten him to her. Again.

“What’s wrong?” the blonde asked nervously. Nina shook her head, and gave him a meaningful look. 

“Nothing.” she answered. “Just a little jumpy.”

Fabian looked back down at the book in his hands, jaw clenched. Suddenly, a phrase caught his eye. He skimmed over it, before calling out.”

“I think I’ve found what we’re looking for.” he announced.   
Nina and Eddie looked at him expectantly, so he went on.

“It says ‘ during the time after their awakening, the Chosen one and the Osirian’s powers can be unstable, and if they are apart, dangerous.”

“Hold on,” Nina interrupted. “That’s exactly what the book Denby gave me said. Except she must have changed it to say together instead of apart.”

“One mystery solved.” Eddie smiled, before gesturing for Fabian to continue.

“Therefore, at the latest hour of birth, if the Osirian cannot prevent it, the end will come. The cycle will continue until both drink the Draft of Neter.”

“Well how do we make this draft then?” Eddie demanded. Fabian glared at him.

“Hold on, Robert’s written something underneath. It looks like riddles, listen-

Bind with the one who twines life with death,   
To find the first ingredient follow the path of Seth.  
Find the vessel with the One who created all,  
To form protection you must take a great fall.  
Let your mind be touched and your problems be gone,  
Find the Sensen that blooms at dawn.  
Search for the blood that will not fall,  
The sister of Osiris knoweth all.  
If acolytes souls you wish not to reap,  
Use within this potion the sacred tears you weep.”

***

As Sibuna squeezed into Fabian and Eddie’s room for the hundredth time, Alfie found himself studying the faces of his friends. It was great to have almost everyone back together, but there was a real shift in the group. Eddie, Nina and Fabian had been waiting when he’d arrived, but instead of being curled up like the gushy couple they were, Nina and Fabian were on separate sides of the room. Infact, Nina was sitting cross legged on the floor, head in her hands. Fabian kept shooting her worried looks, but what concerned Alfie was that Eddie was too. Patricia had plonked herself down next to Eddie, and was glaring at the back of his head. 

Alfie sighed. They really didn’t need that kind of drama. He felt a flash of loss as he thought of the ditsy blonde who would of known exactly how to handle the problem. But Amber was gone, and she wouldn’t be returning. 

K.T nudged his elbow as she stepped forward, clearing her throat. He shook his head, turning his attention to his best friend.

“So, I guess we should let you know that we found something pretty crazy while we were in the library,” she started nervously. “In a nutshell, it looks like the Chosen One and the Osirian have a telepathic link.”

“Way to soften the blow K.T!” Patricia snorted as Eddie gasped. Eddie opened an closed his mouth a few times before finally speaking.

“Do you know how? Or do we just have to wait ?” 

Seeing how uncomfortable she looked, Alfie came to the rescue.

“So did you guys find anything?” he asked quickly.

Alfie felt his jaw dropping gradually wider as Fabian explained what he had read. Once he had finished, he looked around to see if anyone else understood. From the dumbfounded expression on both Patricia and K.T’s faces, they didn’t either. 

When it seemed nobody was going to speak, Fabian carried on.

“So I’ve been thinking the riddle over, and I think at least one line is obvious.”

“Is it?” Eddie asked incredulously. 

“Sacred tears?” Fabian suggested. “Doesn’t that sound like the tears of gold to you?”

Nina finally raised her head, panic in her eyes.

“But they’re for the elixir! We’re not trying to become immortal! Plus, what about the seven acolytes; there’s sort of the problem that one of them might die! And how are we going to find any? I stupidly sent the mask back to the British museum, so unless we’re going to break into a famous museum in London, I don’t see how we’re getting out of this mess.”

Even Nina looked slightly shocked at her outburst. She began to cry silently. Everything was just so crazy, and after last night, and what she had read earlier, she just felt exhausted. Her friends were caught up in another crazy Egyptian mystery, and it was all because of her. 

She felt an arm slip around her shoulders, and automatically laid her head onto the persons shoulder. It was only when she smelt the unfamiliar scent of green apples and cinnamon that she realised it wasn’t Fabian. 

Eddie ignored Nina’s cringe, holding her as her tears came to an end. Once she had it under control, he spoke, feeling everyone’s curious gaze on him. 

“I think we should just ignore the last riddle for now. We’ll just concentrate on the others.” Nina looked at him gratefully, and he gave her shoulder a squeeze. 

Noticing Patricia clenching her fists, and Fabian’s clenched jaw, K.T jumped in.

“Well, now that’s sorted, what are we going to do about Nina’s ‘little problem’” she asked. “It sounds like it’s going to be a regular thing till we make that Draft or whatever.”

She looked to Fabian for advice, but he merely shrugged, continuing to stare at Nina and Eddie. 

“Why don’t we just keep her awake?” Patricia suggested.

Fabian opened his mouth to protest, before considering.

“That’s actually not a terrible idea!” he exclaimed.

“Always the tone of surprise!” Patricia scoffed, just as Victor’s voice rang out through the house.

“It is 10 o’clock. You have five minutes, and then I want to hear a pin drop.”

***

After waiting twenty minutes to check Victor was safely ensconced in his room, the three boys crept up the stairs to Nina, Patricia and K.T’s room. Knocking quietly, Eddie listened out for Nina’s soft voice. He opened the door to see the girls sitting in a circle on the floor. 

“So I thought we could go over some of the riddles?” Fabian said, taking the free spot next to Nina. She smiled at him, taking his hand in hers. 

“We want to stay awake not die of boredom Fabian!” moaned Patricia.

“Well what do you suggest then?” he demanded. 

“Why don’t you guys tell me and K.T more about the first couple of mysteries?” Eddie suggested. “I only have a vague idea of what happened last year, and neither of us knows anything about what happened when Nina first arrived.”

The remaining four of the original Sibuna gang shared a smile. This could take a while. 

“Wait, so you’re telling me you convinced Mara to convince Mr. Sweet that they needed to talk about hedgehogs?” K.T giggled. 

It was midnight, but explaining the complexities of the last few years had taken hours. Alfie was just snorting at Nina’s particularly hilarious retelling of when Fabian almost asked Patricia to the prom, when he noticed the boy was repeatedly glancing at his watch.

“You okay buddy?” he asked. Everyone paused to look at Fabian who suddenly looked guilty. 

“Erm, yeah, fine.” he stammered. 

“Okay, what’s up?” Patricia smirked. 

Fabian shifted uncomfortably. He considered lying, but he was so terrible at it he’d probably make things worse. 

“It’s just that, well, if something does happen tonight, it would be good to know the time. Then we could see whether it’s a pattern..” he trailed off, embarrassed. 

Nina removed her hand from Fabian’s, guilt written all over her face. K.T and Alfie both looked down awkwardly, and Eddie shot daggers at the boy. 

“Oh well done Fabian.” Patricia snapped. “Way to kill the mood.”

“I’m just trying to help!” he argued.

“Oh really?” she sneered. “Well your girlfriend doesn’t seem too happy.”

The argument continued, but Eddie quickly stopped paying attention. There was a buzzing in his limbs that was growing stronger and stronger, making him nervous. It rose to a crescendo, until he saw Nina’s formally alert body slump forward. 

Before anyone could move, Eddie had picked Nina up in a fireman’s lift and sprinted down the stairs. He hadn’t even reached the bottom when a faint glow began to form around her. He bolted out the front door, hoping to get as far from the House as possible before he blacked out.  
The rest of the Sibuna thundered down the stairs, terrified. Patricia yanked the front door open, not caring about the noise, as Fabian cursed repeatedly under his breath. They were later than they had been the last night, but Alfie still gasped in horror at the blinding blue and gold light. It pulsed and slowly shrank, until the only light came from the porch light behind them. 

After leaving a few seconds, just in case, the group sprinted towards Eddie and Nina. Alfie lagged behind slightly and when he reached them, Eddie was already furiously pumping her chest. 

That however, was the end of the similarities to last night. Instead of shakily sitting up, Nina came to with a piercing scream, before thrashing violently in Eddie’s arms. Alfie looked on, horrified as Eddie whispered soothingly in her ear. When she finally calmed down, the blonde motioned for his friends to carry her indoors. While Patricia and Fabian went ahead with Nina, Eddie slung his arms around both K.T and Alfie. 

Once they reached the entrance hall, the girls took Nina straight up to bed. As Alfie made to leave, Eddie caught his arm. Looking seriously at the two boys, Eddie croaked out,

“We need to find a better way to handle this. Fast.”


	5. It's highschool-there's melodrama

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fabian is stupidly jealous, Nina is bored with it and Patricia is done with boys.

It had been days since her first ‘incident’ and Nina’s week wasn’t improving. Sibuna was trying every way they could think of the prevent her from sleeping, but nothing was working. Each night, at 12.31, Nina would pass out and begin glowing. The others insisted on following her and Eddie outside every time, but she could see it was starting to take it’s toll. Between that, trying to figure out the riddles, and keeping her secret, everything was starting to really pile up. 

For instance, right now they were all in the room she shared with Patricia and K.T. Ordinarily she would of just sat down anywhere but now things weren’t so simple. Fabian had flinched when she had automatically moved towards the huge space next to Eddie, so she had quickly changed direction and squeezed herself in between him and Alfie.

“I just don’t understand why it happens at 12.31.” Fabian was saying. “There just doesn’t seem to be any logic to it.”

“Yeah.” K.T agreed. “I mean, if anything it should be at 7.00 right? The time when the Chosen one was born.”

Fabian’s mouth gaped open for a second. 

“That’s it!” he yelled, frantically scrabbling around for his notebook. “The latest hour of birth! 12.31 is the latest time of day where all of the digits add to 7. 7.00 is the hour Nina was born! It all makes sense now!”

“That’s great and all, but it hardly helps us.” Patricia grumbled. “We’re still all waking up in the middle of the night.”

“About that..” Eddie began. “We can’t just keep running up to the girls room until we make this Draft. For one thing I end up having to carry Nina downstairs every night. And you guys need to sleep..”

“Where are you going with this Eddie?” Alfie asked, confused.

“I’m just saying that there’s one way we could all get some sleep, and I could get to Nina quicker..”

“What is it Slimeball!” demanded Patricia. 

“If Nina stayed in mine and Fabian’s room.” Eddie muttered.

There was a moment of silence while everyone considered this idea. Fabian however, wasn’t in the mood for silence. 

“So basically,” he said slowly. “You’re trying to sleep with my girlfriend. Again.”

“In what way did I just suggest that?” Eddie spluttered.

“The second Nina got back you suggested she stayed in our room!” Fabian cried.

“Oh come off it Fabian, he’s got a girlfriend!”

“That’s not what you were saying when you thought he was dating Nina!”

“Guys seriously, is this really the problem right now?”

The arguing got louder and louder, but nobody was backing down. Fabian was determined to keep a hold on Nina this year, Patricia was attempting to be a decent girlfriend for once, Alfie and K.T were trying to convince everyone to see sense, and Eddie was just desperate to prove his intentions were pure.

“SHUT UP!”

Everyone spun around to look at Nina who had stood up, red faced. 

“Have any of you considered I might have something to say?” she asked incredulously. 

Fabian tried to pacify her, but Nina wasn’t having any of it.

“No Fabian. This is my choice too! I’m going to stay in your room, on the floor tonight, and once it’s happened I’ll go upstairs to bed. Everyone other than Eddie and I will stay in bed, and if Victor asks, I’m in the san. Okay?”

The group mutely nodded, and Nina slammed her way out of the room. 

***

“You alright?” Eddie asked, placing a hand on Nina’s shoulder. 

She nodded, but made no move to look at him.

“I’m sorry.”

She carried on ignoring him.

“Sparky?”

He watched her face carefully, and smirked as he saw a hint of a smile.

“Are you ignoring me? We can’t have that..”  
He began to tickle her, and Nina unintentionally let out a peel of laughter.

“Stop it, stop it!” she squealed, writhing around as she sank to the floor.

“What was that?” he snickered

“I can’t breath!” Nina shrieked.

“Ahem.” came a cold voice from behind the pair. 

They both turned around, Nina breathing heavily. Patricia stood halfway up the stairs, arms crossed. The two scrambled to their feet, Nina leaping as far away from Eddie as possible in 

“If I’m not interrupting anything,” she said tightly, “I’d like to speak to Eddie.”

“Trixie..” Nina started, but Eddie shushed her. 

“Sure thing Yacker.”

***

“What was that?” Patricia snarled, glaring at her boyfriend.

Eddie gave a mental sigh. He had known this would happen but he’d been hoping it wouldn’t be so soon. 

“Look Yacker,” he began, but as always, his girlfriend wasn’t going to make this easy.

“Don’t you Yacker me Slimeball!” she yelled, “I have been trying so hard to be the good girlfriend and ignore you hanging of Nina’s arm the whole time. I even stood up for you up there. But seeing you draped all over her doesn’t exactly make me happy! We’ve hardly spent any time together since the last mystery ended, and I really need you to pay some attention to me right now! God I sound like such a girl.”

She slumped back onto the sofa as Eddie tried to ignore the swirling sensation in his stomach.

“The thing is Patricia..” he said slowly. “You know I like you. Like, a lot. A lot .”

He felt himself begin to lose his nerve, and ploughed on. 

“But right now, with the whole Osirian thing, it’s really hard for me to concentrate on anyone other than Nina.”

He saw her eyes widen as she realised what he was saying.

“And that’s really not fair to you-”

“You think we should break up?!” Patricia interrupted furiously.  
“It’s not you, it’s me?” Eddie offered weakly. If there was a jug within reach he was sure the contents would have been poured over his head. Instead, Patricia settled for a hard slap to his left cheek.

“You little Weasel.“ she growled. “You like her, and you’re using this as an excuse.”

“What? No!” Eddie denied, now totally confused.

“Whatever. I’m doing this mystery for Nina, not for you. Don’t bother talking to me.”

With that, Patricia turned on her heel and stormed up the stairs.

***

K.T knocked tentatively on the door to her room. The entire house was in a state of shock. Eddie and Patricia’s arguments were always loud, but this one had been spectacular. Nina had immediately fled the house when Eddie had explained, and Fabian had followed. Alfie was hiding under his bed, afraid Trixie might have woken the dead with her yells, and Willow had dragged Mara into the forest muttering something about ‘balancing their chakras’. Joy had suggested that someone went to comfort Patricia, but as her and Jerome looked so cozy, and Eddie wasn’t even an option, the role had fallen to K.T.

“Patricia?” she called. When there was no response, she opened the door, slightly apprehensively. 

Patricia was sitting cross-legged on her bed, furiously pummelling a pillow. A small pile of papers sat next to her, and every now and then she would glance at them, and hit a lot harder. 

“Go away K.T.” she said through gritted teeth. “I know you want to help and all, but you are everything I don’t need right now.”

“Are you sure? It might help to talk it-”

“Just get out! Please.” K.T’s heartstrings wrenched at how strangled that last word sounded, but she dutifully pulled the door closed and walked away. Eddie had a lot to answer for.


	6. Secret rooms are everywhere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> K.T is watching, Alfie is a genius and Robert Frobisher-Smythe is cryptic as usual.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters belong to their respective writers.

The next day was Saturday, which in Anubis House was usually spent sleeping in till noon, then not doing much else. This Saturday however, Sibuna found themselves closeted away in the antechamber at six, desperately searching for anything relating to the seemingly impossible clues they had been given. This task was made all the more unpleasant by the fact that three members of Sibuna weren’t speaking to each other. Patricia and Eddie were understandably cold after yesterdays break up, but Fabian had taken it upon himself to ignore them both; Eddie for ‘the Nina thing’ and Patricia for arguing with him. 

K.T watched the interactions of her friends as they all researched. Somehow, after only knowing them for a month or two, and only knowing Nina for a few days, she felt like she understood them all. Patricia, Eddie and Fabian had squeezed themselves into each of the available corners, and were studiously avoiding each others gaze, apart from the odd glare. Nina had entered a few minutes later than the rest, tired from last night’s escapades, and made to sit beside Eddie. Then she had glanced guiltily at Patricia, and promptly tucked in next to Fabian. K.T would bet her grandfather’s key that there had been trouble over the sleeping arrangements last night, and Nina wouldn’t want any more drama. The only person who was puzzling her was Alfie, who was racing through a pile of journals like his life depended on it. Ordinarily she would of thought he was just avoiding couple drama, but earlier she had seen him looking teary eyed at a picture on his phone, and that blonde hair had certainly not belonged to Willow. 

Turning back to the scribbled copy of the riddle, she tried to gage some hidden meaning. A word in the first line caught her eye.

“Hey Fabian, search ‘Set’ would you?”

Fabian looked up from his laptop, confused. 

“It’s in the first riddle.” K.T explained. “Bind with the one who twines life with death, to find the first ingredient follow the path of Set.”

“Set,” he muttered, while typing. “Ah, here we are. Set was the brother of Osiris, and the Egyptian god of darkness and chaos. He is well known in mythology as a usurper who murdered his brother to seize the throne. However, after he was defeated by Horus and Iris, he became the protector of Ra, clearing a safe path through the underworld for the sun to rise.”

“Sounds like a nice guy.” Alfie joked. “But how are we supposed to follow his path? And who ‘twines life with death?’ It sounds like a different person.”

“Well we’re hardly going down to the underworld, are we?” Patricia argued. 

Nina shifted, before joining the conversation. 

“What did Set look like?”

“Kind of like a cross between an aardvark and a donkey.”  
“Sounds like that weird statue in the tank room” Alfie said thoughtfully.

“What statue?” Nina asked, confused.

“It’s this huge half man, half animal thing, up against the wall.” Fabian described.

“The gatehouse is empty now, right? So why don’t we go and take a look?”

“It’s the only lead we’ve got.” Eddie agreed. 

 

As K.T unlocked the door to the tank room, Eddie could sense his friends unease. Last time they’d been here, three of them had had their souls sucked out. What struck him as odd was that Nina seemed the most nervous when they climbed the stairs.

“See! It’s really creepy!” Alfie exclaimed, pointing.

The statue stood about six feet tall, carved from dark stone. It held a long staff, which was embellished with golden hieroglyphs, and wore only a striped loincloth. 

Nina stepped forward to look closer. The back of the creature couldn’t be seen, as it was pressed up against the wall. She ran her finger over the dusty stone.

“Hey, Nina, you might want to look at this!” Fabian called from the other side. 

Sibuna crowded around him, as he pointed to the indentation at the bottom of the staff.

The Eye of Horus stared back at them, glowing as Nina approached. She got out her locket, and instinctively bent to press it to the shape. When she did, it burned red, and familiar wisps of magic eminated from it. Then, slowly at first, a great rumbling echoed through the chamber. 

“Nina move!” Eddie yelled, dragging the girl back just as the staff began to spin like the door of a safe. The statue began to creak forward, leaving a gap just large enough for a person to enter. 

“Thanks Eddie.” Nina said gratefully, before stepping towards the gap.

“Hold on a second.” Fabian warned. “Maybe we shouldn’t send the Chosen One straight into the unknown.”

“Good thinking,” Eddie agreed. “I’ll go.”

“Oh right, because losing the Osiran would be so much better!”

“Seriously, we’re all connected in about six hundred mystical ways, but we can’t decide who goes through a door?”

“Uh, guys?” Alfie interrupted. “Nina’s already gone.”

Eddie and Fabian spun around. Alfie was right, Nina’s heel was just disappearing through the doorway. The rest of Sibuna followed hurriedly behind. Once they had passed through, they found themselves in a great cavern. In the centre was a huge lake, and in the middle of that lake was a tiny island. They caught up with Nina as she stood at the edge of the water.

“I’m guessing that’s not a swimming pool?” Patricia asked ruefully. 

Nina shook her head.

“It’s calling to me, but not in the way the house does. It feels… ominous in some way. Don’t touch the water. Check the cave walls for clues.”

Everyone spread out to follow her instructions. As he ran his hands along the rough rocks walls., Eddie marvelled at her bravery. It had taken him a long time to adjust to being head of Sibuna, and yet she had only returned a week ago, and already she had settled right back into the role. 

“I’ve found something!” Patricia cried. “It’s another Eye of Horus!”

Nina rushed over and touched the locket to the markings. For a second nothing happened, but then there was a click, and the familiar tones of Robert Frobisher-Smythe echoed through the room.

“For those who seek the cure, a choice is yours to make. Yet know without the Mesektet of Ra, doom follows in your wake. Choose truly and the blessing of Heka will follow, but make mistake and you will not see tomorrow.”

“Robert’s always so cheery.” Alfie remarked after a pause. 

“What on earth is a Mesektet?” Nina groaned.

“It’s the boat Ra used to pass through the waters of the underworld night. The ancient Egyptians thought it was the sun setting.” Fabian said thoughtfully. “But I don’t see a ship anywhere around here.”

“Maybe it only appears at dawn?” K.T mused. “As the actual sun rises.”

“Sounds like the sort of thing Robert would set up.” Patricia agreed. 

“So we’ll come back at sunset?” Nina suggested. “We can try to work out who Heka is in the meantime?”

“I just have one question.” Alfie replied. 

Sibuna turned to him expectantly.

“Why does anything to do with Ancient Egypt have to sound like someone sneezing?” 


	7. Everything is not as it seems

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patricia is badass, Alfie throws coke cans and Fabian walks in on something...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own anything that belongs to someone else.

“So let me get this straight,” Eddie groaned.. “Heka was the Egyptian god of magic. He symbolized health and wholeness, which is why we need something to do with him. We’re supposed to take this object from the magic island in the middle of the lake we might only be able to cross at sunset, which is in half an hour. And we have no idea what that object is, but if we pick wrong, we might die?”

“That’s about the size of it.” Nina agreed. “Why does it all have to be so confusing!” 

She flopped back against the blonde boys legs. Eddie glanced over at Fabian, but his headphones were on and he was too engrossed in research to notice. Alfie seemed to have fallen asleep, his head resting on the book he was reading, and Patricia and K.T had gone down to the cellar to replace Robert’s journals.

“So when are you going to tell him?” he breathed in her ear. 

Nina looked up sharply, and quickly checked Fabian wasn’t listening. 

“I will soon!” she hissed. “Just give me a little more time to work out how. I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

“Sparky, he’s going to be upset whatever happens. It’s you I care about.”

“I know Eddie. But please, just let me tell him in my own time.”

Eddie nodded reluctantly, and pulled her into a one armed hug. She squeezed him back, but jumped away when the door swung open.

“Guess what Patricia realized!” K.T trilled as the two crashed in, startling Fabian and causing Alfie to jump awake shouting “ZOMBIES!”

“What?” Fabian asked, as the girls stood impatiently by the door, bursting to tell the others their news.

“You said the hieroglyph for Heka was two arms bound with rope right? 

“Flax.” Fabian corrected, but Patricia brushed him off.

“Well the first riddle said bind together. Bind. Like with a rope. What if the object we’re looking for is this flax of Heka?”

“How did you work that out Trixie?” Alfie said in awe. 

“I told you not to underestimate me Alfie.” Patricia grinned. “So, shouldn’t we be heading over to the gatehouse? It’s almost sunset.”

“What are we going to do when Victor does his room check though?” K.T pointed out. 

“Jerome’ll cover for us.” Alfie assured her. “He just won’t ask why.”  
“Okay then!” Nina smiled. “Lets go find some magic rope!”

***

Standing at the edge of the lake, Fabian watched his girlfriend carefully. Ever since Nina had returned, it was as though she was on tiptoe, ready to fly away again. The whole Eddie thing was messing with his head too. He knew deep inside that Eddie was his best friend, but after that first night, something had changed. There was no trust anymore.

“Thirty seconds till sundown.” Patricia cautioned.

Nina was conscious of Fabian’s eyes on her. She could also feel Eddie watching her from behind., which made her all the more conflicted. Everything was just so confusing, and charging straight into a new mystery was really throwing her off. 

“Twenty seconds”

She knew he was watching. Eddie could tell, but that didn’t mean he would stop. She was going to have to tell everyone the truth sometime, and if he could speed it up, he would. 

“Ten seconds”

As the sun slipped below the horizon, the cavern darkened, until the only light was the ethereal green glow of the lake. For a minute, it seemed as though nothing was going to happen. Then, slowly at first, little flecks of dust began to group together. They moved quicker and quicker, until a clear shape began to emerge. A black boat sat moored at the edge of the water, a ghostly breeze blowing its sails. 

“That really doesn’t look safe.” K.T warned. “And it will only fit two people.”

“Me and Nina.” Patricia said firmly. 

Fabian and Eddie began to protest, but the two girls were united in their determination. They clambered gingerly in, and just as Nina pulled herself up onto the deck, the boat set off towards the island. Soon the group gathered at the lakes edge were just distant blobs, and they were left with only the sound of little waves lapping at the ships sides.

After what felt like hours, but could only have been a few minutes, the Mesktet came to a stop, bumping up against the jagged rocks

“Will it leave when we get out?” Nina asked nervously.

“Only one way to find out!” Patricia replied, leaping onto dry land and tugging her friend with her. 

The boat stayed still, so they turned their attention to the alter in the centre of the tiny outcrop. It was golden, and patterned with hundreds hieroglyphs that shone in jewel bright colours. Suddenly, Patricia saw one she recognised. 

“Locket time.” she said, pointing to the carving. Nina matched her necklace to it, and they watched in amazement as the hieroglyphics shifted, until all was left was a line of writing. 

“Choose wisely.” Nina read. This must have been some sort of password, as at her words the top of the slab slid back to reveal three objects; a knot of red silk, a length of fibrous rope, and a black and gold inscribed cord. 

“So, we think flax is like rope, yeah?” Patricia asked with trepidation. “The one in the middle.”

Nina nodded thoughtfully. 

“Do we just take it?” the red head continued. “Doesn’t it seem to easy? Doesn’t it feel like a-”

She trailed off as Nina reached in and clasped her fingers around the rope. For a second, nothing happened. Then, the island began to rock from side to side. The alter began to crumble as the water rose higher and higher up the beach

“The island’s sinking!” Patricia shrieked.

“Get back to the boat!” Nina yelled, grabbing her hand and sprinting towards the vessel. They tumbled in, and the ship left the shore just as the last boulder was buried beneath the waves. Then, just as they thought they were safe, a spectral figure appeared on the bow of the boat. 

“Go with the blessing of Heka!” the creature boomed, before vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. 

***

“One magical object down, four more to go.” K.T cheered happily at breakfast the next morning. “We’ll have this mystery solved in no time!”

“And no creepy teachers or zombies so far.” Alfie agreed. “Everything’s coming up Sibuna!”

Fabian and Patricia laughed. 

“Don’t get optimistic guys.” Fabian warned. “There’s always time for danger when the Chosen one and the Osirian are around.”

“Yeah, speaking of those two, where are they?” K.T asked.

“Gone to school early to work on some extra work Nina got set.” Fabian replied. “ Or rather, Eddie’s going to guilt his Dad about last year and try to get Nina out of doing it.”

“Typical Eddie.” Alfie smirked. “Make sure those two take a day off this mystery stuff, yeah? Yesterday was a big breakthrough.”

“Fair enough.” Fabian agreed. “Now, unless our first lesson is ‘Extreme Pancake Eating, I suggest we head off to school!”

***

While he changed his books during lunch, Fabian caught sight of Eddie at his locker. They had all been such a good team yesterday, and it really didn’t seem fair to hate the guy for something he hadn’t even done.

“Hey Eddie, wait up!” he called. Eddie turned around, confused. He hadn’t been spotted with Nina all morning, what had he done wrong?

“Look mate, I’m sorry about all that Nina stuff.” Fabian started. “I know I should trust you, it’s just she’s the first girl I’ve really cared about. Can we just pretend it never happened?”

“What Nina stuff?” Eddie joked nervously. 

Fabian grinned at him, and walked off to Science in a considerably better mood than he had been in for days. If he had stopped to look back, he might have felt differently. 

***

“Where are they?” Patricia grumbled. “We’ve been waiting for ages!”

“They’re only twenty minutes late Patricia.” Fabian said, coming to Nina and Eddie’s defence. 

“Yeah, for the hundredth time this week!” she retorted. “Honestly, they’re supposed to be leading Sibuna, not ditching us.”

“They’re probably just finishing homework at school Trixie.” Alfie assured her. “They’ll be here in a minute.”

“Speak of the devils” K.T teased, as the two rushed through the door, offering a multitude of apologies. 

“So, where are we on riddle number two?” Nina asked, sitting herself on Eddie’s bed. 

So that he wouldn’t concentrate on how familiar the action seemed to her, Fabian began to reel of his notes. 

“Well, so far we’ve decided that vessel means a bowl or a cup, because it’s what you have to drink the draft from. It obviously has some kind of protective powers too. But I haven’t worked out who ‘The One who created all’ is yet.”

“I still think you’re missing out the most important bit.” Alfie argued. “A great fall anyone? Does that not sound dangerous to you?”

“Danger Smanger,” Patricia joked. “All in a days work.”

“If we’re supposed to be falling, where are we falling from?” Nina asked.

“Well, I’ve drawn up a list of places on school grounds it’s possible to fall from. I figured we could check them for any symbols or clues.” Fabian suggested. 

“Dude, there’s like fifty locations.” Eddie moaned as he inspected the paper.

“Well we’ll just have to start soon then won’t we.”

***

As it turned out, Fabians’ list didn’t take long to complete. None of the locations held any sort of markings or clues, unless you counted a pyramid of old Coke cans on the laboratory window ledge. Eddie and Nina had vanished again, and Patricia and Alfie were now trying to pelting the boarders below. As he listened to Alfie’s countdown, and the eventual clatter of landing, something clicked in Fabians’ mind.

“How could I have been so stupid?” He cursed. “The tunnel gorge!” 

He called out for his confused friends to follow him, then sprinted back to Anubis House. After tiptoeing quickly through the entrance hall, and checking for Victor, Fabian crept into the cellar. He waited patiently for the antechamber door to slide open, but once it did, all the happiness drained out of him.

Two people stood in the centre of the room, arms wrapped around each other, hands cupping faces, foreheads pressed together. 

Nina and Eddie.


	8. Eddie shouts at everyone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nina cries, Fabian is a dick, Eddie is pissed off with everyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I claim no ownership over the intellectual property of anyone else. Also, I am aware that some of the content of this chapter is inherently problematic. Please let me know if I should tag things. Please keep in mind this is basically a melodrama, but obviously a large portion of the behavior displayed is completely inappropriate.

‘How could you?” Fabian bellowed, shoving his way into the room. “Fabian it’s not what you think!” Nina pleaded.

“It’s not what I think?” he snarled. “I come in here to find you two this close to kissing and it’s not what I think? When you’re inches away from a guy who dumped his girlfriend so he could be with you? You two have been vanishing all week, and I let it slide because I thought I could trust you.”

“We were just trying to find the telepathic connection!” Nina protested. “It’s been getting stronger and we thought it could help the mystery!”

“Oh, and that’s why you snuck off, and didn’t tell Sibuna?” Fabian scoffed.

“We didn’t want _this_ to happen!” Nina cried in exasperation. “I knew you and Patricia would find it difficult, and it‘s a strain for us, so we kept it private!”

“Then why were you almost kissing?! Or do you just feel the need to snog every guy you solve a mystery with?” Fabian knew the minute the words had left his mouth that he shouldn’t have said them. But there was so much betrayal and anger rushing through him that he didn’t care.

“We’re over.”

He spun on his heel and stormed out of the cellar.

***

Nina collapsed in a heap, sobbing. Eddie wanted to comfort her, every fibre of his being was telling him to stay with the girl, but he’d had enough. She couldn’t be hurt like this. They had been protecting everyone else for far too long..

He sprinted into the entrance hall just as Fabian opened the front door.

“Hey!” he yelled.

Fabian turned to face him, fury etched in his face. He opened his mouth to retort, but Eddie wasn’t going to take it anymore.

“You want to know the truth Rutter?” he called. “I’ll give you the truth.”

The dark haired boy stepped forward, squaring up to him.

“Oh will you?” he hissed.

“Nina hasn’t betrayed you at all. She’s been trying to protect you. She’s been trying to protect everyone. Do you remember when you said this mystery doesn’t have a time limit? Well that’s bullshit.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Patricia and K.T pelt downstairs, but all he was interested in was Fabian.

“You think you’re some kind of genius Rutter, but you haven’t worked it out yet, have you? That golden glow that surrounds her every night isn’t pixie dust. I’m not sprinting out of the house to have sex with her. Your girlfriend is dying, every single night, and I’m the only one who can stop it.”

Alfie and Jerome had left the living room to watch the showdown now, Joy behind them.

“Nina is literally going to hell and back. Those minutes you guys have to wait for her to wake up? For her, that’s an hour in the depths of punishment. Oh, and you know what makes it better for her? She gets to see our old friends Rufus and Senkhara there. Ammut too. She’s fighting them each night until we make that draft, and there’s nothing she can do. And if we don’t make it before the winter solstice, one night, she’s not going to wake back up.”

He raised himself to his full height, glaring down at Fabian.

"You know what she said to me, after her first journey Rutter? She told me not to tell you, because she didn’t want you to freak out. She was afraid it would hurt you too much, and you’d ditch her. And now you’ve done it anyway.”

“And you,” Eddie snarled, turning on Jerome and Joy.

“You can’t just pretend this isn’t happening. You know what’s going on, but you hide away from it, because you’re cowards. Well not anymore. Nina is all of our responsibilities now. We are going to work around the clock to solve those riddles, because however any of you feel, I am not losing Nina.”

He shoved past the group to the front door. Just before he left, he looked back, directly into Fabian’s eyes. “Stay away from her.” he growled, before heading out into the grounds.

***

For a minute, nobody moved. All that could be heard was Fabian’s heavy breathing. Then, the boy turned and strode into his room, slamming the door behind him.

“What was that?” Jerome marvelled, breaking the silence at last.

Alfie, K.T and Patricia shared a look.

“You guys better come upstairs.” K.T answered. “We have a lot to talk about.”

***

“So then Fabian muttered something about the chasm and sprinted off.” Patricia finished.

Jerome and Joy looked gobsmacked. They had both participated in Sibuna’s adventures before, but they’d never been told the whole story.

“And now we need to solve the last four riddles before the winter solstice.” K.T explained, handing over the sheet of paper.

“When’s that again?” Jerome interjected. “Somehow it’s not in my calendar.”

“December 21st. How ironic.”

Everyone stared at Alfie in confusion.

“It's another multiple of seven?” he continued. “Jeez guys, are you new to this or what?”

***

_Red blood blooms from underneath her fingernails as she scrabbles against the stone walls. The oppressive darkness felt thick, and heavy, and though they hadn’t come for her yet tonight, she knew they would. Even now, she could feel them watching her, laughing at her plight._

_It was worse when she was sad. She knew by now that her emotions changed the environment surrounding her. Yet there was no escape once she had materialised._

_The quicksand was catching up with her. She wonders if they will appear before she goes under. A pocket of gas bubbles beneath her, and as its putrid stench fills her lungs, she vomits. The sound echoes loudly through the empty chamber, and then she hears it. The evil cackle of joy._

_“Not so strong tonight, are we Chosen One?” Senkhara jeers, as she floats towards her._

_Somehow they are untouched by the filth, able to advance on her smoothly. How long will she be here tonight? The strength is seeping from her, and the grit and blood on her hands are forcing her to slip. A sob escapes her lips, causing the three to smile more widely._

_“You have no fight in you.” Rufus taunted, reaching over to caress her face._

_She had known they would be angry. Last night she had been filled with such strength and hope, she had appeared with a sword in her hands, and tied them up. She had woken up with their furious screams still ringing in her ears._

_Suddenly, the quicksand vanishes from beneath her. The shock of cold air causes her to loosen her grip, and she feels herself falling through the air. Her flimsy pyjamas hold no protection against the icy wind. Just as she is about to hit the ground, Ammut flicks a finger, suspending her there. They surround her, whispering to her._

_“What kind of a leader fails to protect her friends”_

_“They do not trust you. They don’t believe in you.”_

_“He never loved you.”_

_She wants to scream, wants to fight back. She covers her face with her arms, curling into a ball. Rufus stands behind her, and she can feel the skin on her neck crawl. He breaths and the scent of death and decay washes over her._

_“Soon the solstice will pass, and your friends will fail” Senkhara whispers. “And then you shall join us forever.”_

_They close in, cackling. White spots cloud her vision, and she feels the last inkling of hope drain out of her. “_

_NINA” shouts a strong voice. And he is there, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her to safety._

_Her Osirian._

***

Jerome didn’t quite know what to think when he walked into the living room the next morning. It was still early, and he wasn’t quite awake. Mara had always been the one to get him up and moving, pushing him to do more, be better. Joy didn’t care if he slept past noon.

He paused for a second to consider how things had changed. It seemed amazing to think that only a few months before, he had been happily dating the girl he’d spent two years chasing. Now he was in a relationship with her best friend, and while Mara had given her permission, they never spoke. Watching Nina snoozing happily in Eddie’s lap, he wondered. Did Fabian have anything to worry about? Or was it just this connection that nobody seemed to understand. Would she and Rutter reach the stage he and Mara were at; barely able to speak without guilt and pain overwhelming them? Without really thinking, he lent over and nudged the two awake. They jumped apart, sharing a tired grimace, just as the rest of the Sibuna piled in, Joy trailing sleepily behind.

There was an uncomfortable silence, during which Nina turned and stared hard at Eddie. He shrugged.

“Um, so, for the benefit of those who don’t have a telepathic link, you okay Martin?” Jerome asked.

Joy shot him a look, but Nina smiled at the boy.

“I’m fine.” she answered, but her red rimmed eyes told another story. “I hear Eddie filled you in on everything.”

When everyone nodded, Jerome and Joy more fervently than the others, she continued. “Well, before we do anymore riddling, we better get you two initiated.” she said kindly.

“Initiated?” K.T and Eddie echoed.

“Wait, you two haven’t been made official members either?” Nina questioned.

When they shook their heads, she looked to Alfie and Patricia. Jerome noted that she avoided Fabian’s eyes.

“We didn’t really have time..” Alfie confessed. “No time like the present.” Nina grinned. “Grab something precious to you and meet me in the clearing in twenty minutes.”

***

Once everyone was dressed and gathered, Nina began to explain.

“So way back in my first year, Amber decided that we needed to make our little group official. She came up with a little pact, and then we each had to throw an important belonging into the fire. Then we initiated Alfie and Patricia before the end of school. It’s just a way of making sure we all feel part of something, and know that first and foremost, our duty is to protect each other. So, if you repeat after me.”

Nina took a deep breath, and began to recite.

“We, Jerome Clarke, Joy Mercer, K.T Rush and Eddie Miller, being of sound mind, promise to protect the secrets of Anubis House, and stand by our fellow club members.”

After they had made their pledge, Nina called them up one by one to throw their belongings into the fire. K.T dropped in a photograph of her new friends, Joy the note Jerome had sent her that led to their reunion. Jerome threw in a T-shirt for a concert Mara had taken him to. He knew he would be answering for that later. When Eddie stepped up with a small book, Patricia stopped him.

“You’re supposed to chuck in something special, Slimeball.” she sneered. “Everybody knows you don’t care about books.”

Eddie blushed. “It’s the notebook Nina explained about the Osirian thing in.”he muttered, before chucking it into the flames.

Hoping to avoid an awkward pause, Alfie broke in. “You know, Amber’s going to kill us for doing this without her!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Such a bad end to the chapter, so sorry!


	9. Nobody falls to their doom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jerome is thoughtful, Fabian is angst filled and K.T wants to kill Eddie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I own nothing.

_Tonight she had landed in a field of jewel bright flowers. At first glance the glade seemed beautiful, frozen in a state of perfection. Then she felt the thorns digging into her side, noticed the blood trickling down her legs. She was so very mortal in this place, so easily harmed._

_She stared around at the sinister flowers. Their scent was intoxicating, but it was not what caught her attention. There was something different in the air, a restless, dangerous quality, unlike any she had felt before. Somehow, some part of her knew that it was not the work of the Three. This was ancient magic. A dark force was stirring._

_She was distracted from her thoughts by a voice. Yet it was not one of the Three, not even Eddie come to rescue her. It was a voice that should not have been there at all._

_“Nina..” Fabian whispered, and she twisted to confirm it was him. He stood behind her, dark hair as messy as usual. Having not spoken to him for two days, she took a second to drink in the sight of him. His eyes sparkled as green as before, a soft smile on his face. Dressed in the jacket and jeans he had worn the day they first met, he lovingly held out a hand to her. Had she looked closer she might have seen the faint black shadow around the boy, but she was too hungry for comfort in her personal hell._

_“I’m so sorry . I should have trusted you. You’re my Chosen One.” He breathed into her hair, and she didn’t care that this was impossible. How could she was in the arms of the boy she loved?_

_“I trust you too.” came a call from behind the two. She untangled herself from Fabian to see Patricia, forgiveness in her eyes. The red head ran to hug her._

_“We will always be able to comfort you. You’re our leader, but we will keep you safe.”_

_“We missed you as much as you missed us!” someone behind Patricia chimed in, and there was Alfie, his arm slung around Amber. The blonde was nodding, while holding onto him tightly._

_“You’re the original Sibuna,” she smiled. “How could we forget you?”_

_Two more voices took up the cry._

_“We could never forget you!” Joy and Jerome cheered._

_“You didn’t put me in danger over the last two years,” Jerome assured her. “You saved me.”_

_“And me.” Joy agreed. “I regret being cruel to you just as much as you regret hurting me.”_

_“We all care about you Nina.” Fabian said tenderly. He took her face in his hands, just like when they had danced in the entrance hall before the summer. She let herself become lost in his sea-green eyes as he lowered his lips to hers. He tasted of honey and almonds, and it was so familiar and safe that she felt tears well up behind her eyes. His hand was rubbing gentle circles on her back, and running through her long hair. She felt so loved._

_“BITCH.” cried a harsh voice. She recognised it as Joy’s, and made to turn towards her, but Fabians’ grip tightened around her, and she couldn’t move._

_“He was never yours to take.” Joy hissed. “There will always be a part of him that belongs to me, always a part of everyone that believes you don‘t belong”_

_“You don’t belong.” agreed Patricia, and now she struggled to look over Fabians’ shoulder at the girl. All she could make out was the curl of her lip, for Fabian held her tight._

_“We never needed you. We were better without you. Even Eddie agreed that you were better off far, far away.”_

_“We were safer without you.” Jerome sneered. “ You almost killed us multiple times.”_

_“And you abandoned us.” Alfie put in. “You were too cowardly to speak to any of us.”_

_“Even me.” Amber snarled. “You left me, and that’s why I had to leave the others.”_

_Her tears of joy turned to anguish as she listened to their accusations. She tried to huddle into Fabians’ chest, but he pushed her away. Instead he placed his face inches from hers._

_“You are no leader.” he growled. “You are weak. And we will never, ever trust you.”_

_Her mouth fell open in shock, and he forced himself onto her, brutally biting her lip, kissing her in a cruel, dangerous way. The jeers and insults of the others rang in her ears as he pushed her down to the ground, ignoring her cries of pain as thorns shredded through her skin._

_As she screamed out in agony, the form above her changed. She felt the shoulders beneath her hands broaden, muscles grow more taut and defined. The lips that were upon hers felt chapped, the jaw stronger. The body resting on hers grew heavier as the pace slowed, until his lips were merely brushing against hers.  
“I knew it.” spat Patricia, and she pulled away to find Eddie looking down at her. His lips were swollen, eyes bright, and yet she had never been more afraid of him._

_“I love you.” he murmured, and bent to kiss her again._

_She scrambled backwards letting him embrace thin air. The others cackled with laughter, and finally, finally she saw it. The shadows, growing around all of them, Eddie too. His look of hurt turned to one of glee as he stood to join them._

_“Bad Chosen One.” they chorused in Senkara‘s rasping tones._

_“Such a weak spirit. So easily manipulated.” Senkhara crowed, and though seven mouths moved, only one voice came out._

_“What is this? Why are they saying these things? What did you do to them?”_

_“I have done nothing to them. They are merely echoing you. Your deepest hopes, your darkest fears, your most shameful desires.”_

_“No!” she screamed. “You’re lying.”_

_The laughter grew louder and louder until it was ringing in her ears, blocking out all of her ability to think. She hunched herself over, desperately covering her ears, praying for it to end._

_Just let it end._

***

Eddie had been woken up in many odd ways during his time at Anubis. There was the time he and Mara thought they’d seen a ghost, the time Robert Frobisher-Smythe had been creeping around the house, and the particularly unpleasant moment Patricia had dumped a jug of water over his head because he was snoring. Yet none were quite as unexpected as jerking awake to see Nina leaping out of his arms and curl up shivering in the corner. 

Last night must have been hard for her. He wished he knew what had happened, but that wasn’t the way it worked; she went through torture, and he arrived just in time to pull her back to reality. She had told him her moods affected how bad things were, but no more. 

“Nina?” he whispered as though approaching a feral animal. “Nina, are you okay?” 

She whimpered, turning her head away from him. Frustration coursed through him, but he knew it wasn’t her fault. 

“I’m going to get Sibuna, alright?” he asked. Her sobs quietened slightly, which he took as a good sign.  
Tiptoeing out of the living room, knocked curtly on the door to his room. He heard Fabian stir, but didn’t wait to greet him, moving swiftly on to Alfie and Jerome’s. He didn’t have enough patience for Fabian this morning. 

Only once the group had spread out comfortably over the sofa’s, sleepily adjusting ties and blazers, did Eddie address them. 

“So, basically, Nina is not okay.” he began bluntly. “I don’t know what’s wrong, but I’d hazard a guess that something happened in the Underworld last night.”

He addressed these last words to Nina, and saw her nod a little behind the curtain of hair. 

“So, we need to get a move on with these riddles. We haven’t even tested the chasm theory, and it’s not good enough.”

“Eddie, the autumn half-term is next week. How are we supposed to solve the clues while we’re away?” Joy protested.

“Exactly.” he agreed. “Which is why I think we should all stay over the break. This is more important.”

He was expecting to be challenged, and looked around, daring anyone to disagree. To his surprise, everyone was nodding. 

“It’ll be easier to sneak around.” Alfie pointed out. “And Victor should have his guard down.”

“I’d be staying anyway.” Jerome agreed, pleased at the idea of some company. He slung his arm around Joy, only to be pushed away.

Eddie grinned at the agreement. While he watched Joy and Patricia coax Nina upstairs, he gave a silent thank you to whoever gave him such good friends. 

Well, he thought, as his eyes fell on a grimacing Fabian. Most of them.

***

Joy stuck close to Nina all day. She had no idea what supernatural torture the girl was going through, but she knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of Fabians’ grudges. 

As they sat in their last lesson of the day, a scrap of paper landed on the shared desk. Joy unravelled it to read the words ‘Tunnels. Today, after school. Bring rope and torches.’ in Eddie’s messy scrawl. She nodded at him, and he gestured for her to pass it on. 

Chucking it onto Jerome and Alfie’s desk, she considered her boyfriend. They had been dating for just over a month now, and so far almost everything had been perfect. He was an unexpected gentleman, always planning dates and giving her little gifts. Part of her sometimes felt like he was trying to make up for his other failed relationships, but she knew it was silly to dwell on such things. The only real roadblock was Mara. 

Poor Mara. She had made a huge gesture in helping to get the two together, and Joy was incredibly thankful to her for that. But it didn’t mean that she found their relationship easy to watch, and she was now considerably more withdrawn. Joy hardly spent any time with her anymore. The odd glimpses she did catch were down corridors, or in the classroom, and only ever for a second.

It was even tougher for Jerome. The minute he spotted her dark hair, waves of guilt would emanate from him. Joy could tell by his pained expression that the break up was still raw. Willow had been able to forgive him in her usual fashion, but he had truly broken Mara’s heart, and he knew it. Sometimes she wondered if they’d ever be able to move forward with a guilt inducing ex hanging around.

She shook her head to banish the thoughts, turning back to the whiteboard. She had enough to think about without involving Jerome. 

***

 

“So I reckon our best bet is for two of us to go down, and the rest to keep the ropes steady.”

It was 7 o’clock, and Sibuna was gathered at the edge of the chasm, listening to Eddie. The various torches and rope they had scavenged from the costume cupboard sat in a pile in the corner. Alfie had insisted they wore ‘stealth gear’, so they were all dressed in various combinations of black clothing, with the exception of Nina, who didn’t own any. The air was chilly, and Patricia felt herself shiver as she looked into the darkness.

“We should tie the ropes to something strong.” she interrupted. When everyone turned to look at her, she continued, 

“We don’t know how long you’ll be down there. We won’t be able to hold you.”

Eddie nodded, but Fabian looked irritated.

“We’re just assuming Eddie’s going down?” he burst out. “Even though he has no idea what we’re looking for?”

The blonde boy looked set to argue. Patricia knew he’d been hoping to pick a fight ever since the telepathy incident, but a quiet voice spoke up from the corner.

“He’s got as good an idea as the rest of us.” Nina said softly. “Maybe more, if he has a vision when he touches things.”

She stood up, hugging herself, as though she was trying to keep from falling apart. Eddie shot her a grateful look, but Patricia noticed she avoided his eyes. Pulling the sleeves of her navy jumper over her hands, Nina faced K.T.

“I don’t want to put any pressure on you, but I think you should go too.”

K.T looked terrified, so Alfie came to his friends rescue. 

“Don’t you think one us should go?” he asked, gesturing to himself and Jerome, but Nina was already shaking her head.

“It’s a feeling I have. K.T is supposed to go.”

Alfie started to protest, but K.T put a calming hand on his shoulder.

“It’s fine Alfie. If Nina thinks I need to go, I’ll go. I trust her.”

She directed the last sentence to Nina, who smiled sadly, and handed her a length of rope. Once it was securely wrapped around her waist, she looked around for something to attach it to. 

“Try these boulders.” Eddie suggested, as he tied his loose end around the boulder. K.T mimicked him, and soon the two were standing hesitantly at the edge again. 

“Let the rope out slowly so we can climb down the walls.” he instructed. 

Jerome, Alfie, Joy and Patricia nodded. Fabian had been noticeably left out of the activity, mainly because Eddie didn’t trust him not to let go. Nina was sitting at the side, staring at the ground.

“You ready?” he asked K.T. She grimaced bravely

“To drop into an endless pit to find something we know nothing about? Course.”

***

K.T kept her eyes on the wall as they descended into the darkness. Her arms already ached from clutching the rope, and they had no way of knowing how much further they would have to go. She felt a little proud that Nina had tasked her with this challenge, but she had no idea why. Obviously Eddie was the Osirian, but she wasn’t even a descendant. Her only connection to the house was her great grandfather. 

“My great grandfather!” she cried out. Eddie twisted himself around to look at her in confusion. 

“The One who created all! He created the whole house! Including the tunnels!” 

She sighed in frustration when he still looked confused. 

“The clue said we would find the vessel with the One who created all, after we took a fall. We have to look for something to do with Robert Frobisher- Smythe”

“In the chasm?” Eddie said incredulously.

“It’s the best idea we’ve got.” she shrugged, swinging herself closer to the wall. “You check the other side. Anything that could be linked to him.”

They searched in silence for a few minutes, K.T running her hands down the rough stone surface. She gave a little squeak as her skin snagged on a pointed rock.

“Are you okay?” Eddie called, moving back towards her. She nodded, then concentrated her torch beam on the spot. The stone that had done the damage was flat, with a jagged edge. In the centre were the initials ‘RFS’, and underneath, a hieroglyph she didn’t recognise. 

“What is it?” Eddie asked, peering over her shoulder. She shook her head, but continued to run her finger over the carving. 

“This spike looks loose..” she murmured to herself, “If I could just pull it out..” 

She trailed off as Eddie leant over and gave it a hard tug. A sound like nails being scraped down a blackboards echoed through the chasm, but the spike didn’t seem to move. Then, it shot outwards, widening as it grew longer and longer. 

“Watch out!” she screamed, pushing Eddie out of it’s way. They clambered higher on their ropes, watching in amazement as a ledge materialised before their eyes. Behind it, a smaller cave opened out, and if she squinted she could see a faint, red glow.

“Well that worked.” Eddie muttered under his breath. He lowered himself down, and she followed suit, until they stood on the solid rock. She was just debating whether it was safe to untie the rope, when her phone pinged. She ignored it, but Eddie looked at her, hard.

“ It could be one of the others.” he pointed out, and sure enough, when she looked, there was a message from Alfie waiting.

U guys OK? We heard noise. Nina in a state, thinks she’s got u killed.

She typed out a brief reply, telling him what had happened and telling him to reassure Nina they were fine. Then she turned back to Eddie, who looked curious. 

“Alfie.” she said by way of explanation, and he nodded. 

“Shall we check out the cave then?” he asked. She grinned.

“Lead the way Osirian.”

***

The red light was warm, and slightly uncomfortable. As the cave deepened, an earthy smell began to waft towards them, reminding K.T of the time her class had visited a kiln in 7th grade. At first, the walls were bare, but as they continued the architecture grew more old fashioned, and murals lined the walls.

“Cheery.” Eddie quipped, gesturing to a particularly gruesome image of a man ripping his side off. 

They continued down the hall, until they reached a dead end. Engraved in the stone were the words ‘Here lies the One who created all. Only one of the cursed bloodline may pass.’

“There’s a dead guy behind that wall?” Eddie wondered, confused. “But it can’t be Robert..”

He ran his hand over the wall, pushing and tapping. 

“It’s hollow.” he announced. “But there’s no way through.”

K.T stood back, watching him and mulling the phrase over. Suddenly, she jumped towards him, pulling his arm away. 

“I’ve got it!” she exclaimed, grinning. “This is why Nina sent me down here.”

“Got what?” Eddie asked.

“Cursed bloodline Eddie! Who do we know who was cursed?”

He paused to think, but K.T was much too excited. She rushed on.

“Robert!”

“But that can’t be Frobisher’s body in there!” Eddie protested. “He’s in Egypt.”

“Not the body!” she explained. “I’m related to Robert. I’m one of the cursed bloodline! And if I’m right.. I’m the only one who can get past.”

Before Eddie could stop her, she stepped forwards, placing her hand on the rock. Instead of opening like she expected, the stone heated up, becoming soft and mushy. She pushed through, and suddenly, she was alone. 

***

An overpowering stench of clay hit her. Through the hollow wall, she could hear Eddie calling out to her. 

“I’m okay!” she yelled. “Just wait out there.”  
The shouting quietened, and she was now able to inspect the room. It was incredibly hot, and the air felt stale and heavy. Already she could feel a bead of sweat running down her face. In the centre of the room stood a giant globe, about the size of a car. She stepped closer, then began to circle the orb, looking for any sort of clue. 

“Where would my great grandpa put a clue?” she muttered to herself. “Come on K.T, think. Where would an Egyptologist hide something?”

Coming to a realisation, she searched for the map of Egypt. Sure enough, just above the valley of the kings, was a tiny keyhole. Extracting her moon key from her pocket, she looked down at it. 

“Worth a go.” she murmured, and turned it in the lock. 

There was a loud click, and then the globe began to scroll down, like a dome on a planetarium. As it did, the figure of a man was revealed, standing in the centre. When K.T looked closer, she realised it wasn’t a man, but a statue. It was modelled similarly to the Set statue in the tank room, but this one had a rams head, with curled horns, and was made of a reddish-brown stone. Its arms were held out towards her, and resting on it’s open palms was a large, shallow bowl. 

“The vessel!” she whispered. 

Cautiously, she lent towards the statue, and eased the basin out of its hands. It was heavier than it looked, and she stumbled a little as she moved back to the door. She burst through, making Eddie jump about a foot in the air. 

“Jeez K.T!” he cried out, but shut up when he spotted the vessel. 

“Is that what I think it is?”

“Yeah,” she answered happily. “I just had to unlock something with my key.”

“And that was it?” Eddie asked, bewildered. “Doesn’t that seem a bit… easy to you?”

“Oh right, because climbing down a chasm, searching for a tiny stone, almost being killed by a giant spike and pushing through a magic wall is so easy!” K.T teased. 

Eddie shrugged his shoulders as she dragged him quickly back down the tunnel. They were just retying the ropes when a rumbling began to echo through the tunnel. The platform beneath them began to slide back into the wall. 

“Eddie!” K.T screeched, and he looked down. She was struggling, but she couldn’t tie herself in without dropping the bowl into the abyss below. 

“Grab onto me!” he yelled, and she looped her arms around his neck, clutching the bowl in her hands. A second later, the two were hanging on to the rope for dear life, their legs flailing around in thin air.

“There’s the difficult bit.” Eddie panted. 

“If you weren’t the only thing stopping me from falling to my death, I would punch you.” K.T said through gritted teeth. 

He winked at her, before giving two short tugs on the rope. They held their breath for a second, and then felt themselves being pulled up towards the light.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joy is very clever, Fabian's in trouble and Eddie behaves badly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own these characters. Also, I realise Eddie is overly aggressive towards the end-let me know if you need it tagged.

And we’re sure Robert wasn’t referring to the breath freshener when he said Sensen?” Alfie asked as he stared at the laptop. 

Three days had passed since he and K.T had found the bowl, but to Eddie it felt like months. After the half term passed (he never understood why Brits said Autumn. December was winter, pure and simple) they would have only 2 weeks to find and make the cure, or Nina was as good as dead. 

“Google translate doesn’t know it either.” Joy grimaced. “I’ve tried every language, but nothing.” 

Jerome wrapped an arm around her as she sighed with frustration, and peered at the scrap of paper . Since the initiation, Eddie had found himself repeatedly grateful for the pairs involvement. They had both made some morally ambiguous decisions in the past, but they were sharp as nails and determined to prove their worth. 

“Hold up, it says the ‘Sensen blooms at dawn right?” Jerome asked, looking around.

“Let your mind be touched and your problems be gone, find the Sensen that blooms at dawn” Eddie recited in a monotone. He’d committed the whole riddle to memory during the first week, just in case they ever lost it. 

“Right.” Jerome agreed. “And what’s the first thing you think of when I say ‘blooms‘?”

Eddie pulled a face. He looked to Alfie, K.T and Patricia, but they looked just as clueless as he felt. Only Joy gazed at Jerome in admiration, eyes brightening.

“When did you get to be so smart?” she asked, pecking him on the lips. 

“Just lucky for you I guess.” he grinned.

The others shared confused looks.

“Um, I hate to interrupt guys, but what the hell are you on about?” Patricia said bluntly. 

Still smiling in a self satisfied manner,. Jerome began to explain. “The main thing I think of when someone says bloom is a flower. So if the Sensen blooms at dawn, we’re looking for a flower that only blooms as the sun rises, right?” 

“There’s still two problems though.” K.T said carefully. 

Eddie knew she hated to be a pessimist, and the way she was nervously twisting her sleeves over her hands didn’t bode well. 

“The first, which is easier solved, is that we have no clue what a Sensen looks like. And the second is we have no clue where to find it. There’s no location in the riddle.”

“Couldn’t you just ask your great grandfather about it?” Joy asked.

K.T rolled her eyes. 

“He’s been asleep for ninety years, I doubt he’d remember. Anyway, he refuses to use a phone. Harriet sends me letters, but they take weeks to get here, and we don’t have that long.”

“Oh.” Joy replied simply. She flopped backwards onto Jerome’s bed, narrowly avoiding hitting Patricia. The red head gave her a playful push, and the tension dispersed. 

“HA!” yelled Alfie, who’d been furiously typing throughout the whole exchange. “I found it!”

The other five crowded around him, as he pointed to the deep purple flower on his screen. 

“Sensen is a term sometimes used by botanists in the ancient times to refer to the rare purple lotus. A delicate flower that only blooms at dawn, it’s stamen were used in healing potions to help those prone to fits clear their minds.” Eddie read out. 

“Sound perfect. Problem one solved!” K.T exclaimed, clapping Alfie on the back. 

“Yeah, well done Jerome and Alfie! Wow, did I just say that?” She sniggered.

“Now we just need to work out where to find it.” Jerome groaned. 

“If Nina or Fabian had bothered to show up we might have a better chance.” Alfie muttered grumpily, before letting out a cry of pain. K.T had elbowed him.

Eddie felt everyone’s eyes on him, but he didn’t know what to say. It was true. As hard as Joy and Jerome brainstormed, and Alfie and Patricia searched, they were missing their two biggest experts on Ancient Egypt.

“Fabes doesn’t talk anymore.” Joy remarked. “He’s avoiding everyone in the house. He just seems so angry. It’s not like him.”

“Do you know where Nina is, Eddie?” Patricia asked awkwardly. 

He shook his head. 

“The second we get wake up, she runs away. It’s like she’s afraid of me.” he muttered bitterly. 

“Maybe she’s just tired?” K.T rationalized. “She has been looking really ill lately.”

“Missing Fabian?” Jerome asked, before glancing furtively at Eddie.

He shrugged. He vaguely heard Alfie sigh that Amber would have known what to do, but his thoughts were already drifting elsewhere. K.T was right, Nina did look ill. Her normally bright green eyes had lost their sparkle, and were surrounded by huge dark shadows. Her face looked gaunt and pale, and for the few seconds he held her each night, he could feel her ribs through her pyjamas. Her clothes were hanging off her, and her collarbone now stood out in sharp relief against her neck. Even the way she moved was different. Instead of bouncing around, her steps were silent and shuffling, as though she wanted to disappear. For such a transformation to take place over only a few weeks was terrifying. 

Her behaviour towards him had changed dramatically too. She flinched away from even the slightest touch, never staying in the same room as him for more than a second. He had a sneaking suspicion that she was running away from him at school too, as every now and again he would see a familiar whirl of dirty blonde hair disappearing back round a corner. She was treating him the same way she treated Fabian, and that hurt. 

Not being around Nina was starting to take it’s toll. The lack of her company was becoming physically draining, worse than when she was in America, because now he recognized it. It killed him that there was nothing he could do except swoop around the Underworld like some kind of fairy and wake her up. What hurt the most though, was that it wasn’t just Osirian instinct anymore. He just wanted to save her.

***

_She let out a scream of pure frustration as she ran, trampling the brightly coloured flowers. She had been experiencing the same twisted hell for a week now, and it was driving her insane. The Three had obviously picked up her extreme reaction, so now each time she descended she was tormented by her best friends. She hated watching their faces become consumed by black shadows, listening to their voices shift into Senkhara’s. Because it was Senkhara she feared the most. Rufus was dangerous, but he had always been a mere mortal, and Ammut she had never fought. Senkhara was the one who had cursed her and her friends, put her Gran in danger, nearly taken her life. And The Three knew it. Of that she was sure. They could see every fear and hope within her. Nothing could be concealed in this place._

_Nina paused for a second listening for a second set of footsteps. For the last few nights she hadn’t stayed to hear Senkhara’s words, instead sprinting away. Yet the Shadow Eddie always gave chase, and the words still echoed through her mind._

_“They are merely echoing you. Your deepest hopes. Your deepest fears. Your deepest desires.”_

_But it is fear that causes Shadow Eddie to kiss her each night, fear of hurting the one who protects her, fear of losing her friends, fear of the unknown bond they share. Fear, not desire. She loves Fabian, even if he can’t bare the sight of her. But a little voice niggles in her mind- Why does she feel so guilty?_

***

Fabian saw Nina at the end of the corridor, and twisted his face into an angry shape. He wanted her to hate him, or fear him, so that he would have reason to feel so furious. But she didn’t. She simply looked lost. He forced himself to turn his back on her and continue down the hallway. He was sure if he looked back, Eddie would appear, and he didn’t know if he could contain his jealousy. 

He had always been slightly crazy when it came to Nina. The first time he felt it was when Patricia had accused him of ditching her for Nina. He had turned on her and called her a witch. It was so out of character for him, yet from that moment on he knew he would do anything to keep her safe. Indeed, at the end of that year he had tackled Rufus to protect her. Then came second year, and along with it, their break up. It had cut him deep, yet he still stuck by her side. When Senkhara had cursed them Nina had been terrified, and so was he, but at least they were in it together. He had argued with the spirit herself, and nearly lost his mind when Nina fell through the Senet board. And to top it all off, she had almost vanished to the field of rushes, just after they’d saved her. But Eddie had come to the rescue in the end.

Eddie. The Osirian, tied to the Chosen One by generations of service. Fabian had been jealous of the boy immediately, the second Nina flirted with him at the breakfast table. Nina didn’t need some random American to protect her. She had him. But Eddie had quickly developed an interest in Patricia, and while he had saved Nina in the Frobisher library, it was obvious there was nothing there. He had even congratulated the two when they finally kissed at the end of term party. But then the third term began, and Nina was gone. Fabian found himself turning on his roommate, going so far as to start a fight. Alfie had later told him that he’d never seen him so angry. The thing was, Nina was his first love. She took up about half of his thoughts, she was his dream girl. But most guys don’t have to share their dream girl. Especially not with someone she had known for millions of years. 

That was why it had ended. The connection had obviously been too strong, and the two had finally come together. Nina had denied it, Eddie had denied it, the whole house had denied it, but Fabian wouldn’t hear it. His jealousy was overwhelming, like nothing he had ever felt before. Something was changing.

***

_Her breath came in short, shallow bursts. Her feet were bleeding, and the metallic smell mixed with the perfume of the flowers. Yet still she ran, pushing her aching muscles onwards. She could faintly hear Shadow Eddie thundering along far behind her, and the thought sent a shudder of fear through her. For the first time, she cursed herself for wearing such skimpy pyjamas to bed. The thin tank top and shorts could not protect her from the freezing cold of the Underworld._

_The footsteps faded away. This should have comforted her, but she carried on running. Soon she would wake, tired and guilty, and have to hide from the real Eddie. It pained her, as she was desperate to help Sibuna, but simply staying sane was such an effort that she was useless to them. She was too exhausted to be brave._

_Suddenly, she noticed the silence. For the first time in days, she could not hear the mocking catcalls of The Three. She stopped dead, looking around, and saw that she had reached to edge of the deadly meadow. A few metres in front of her was a huge pit, churning out clouds of dark smoke. Echoing from deep, deep within it came a furious hissing noise. Nina cautiously approached the edge, and peered down into its depths, but she could see nothing but blackness._

_A shift in temperature made her turn around. The air grew uncomfortably warm as Rufus, Senkhara and Ammut materialized before her._

_“She has found him for us.” Ammut cackled madly._

_“Yes, she is the strongest Paragon for centuries.” Senkhara agreed._

_“And she has become consumed in pain and guilt.” Rufus said, gleefully. “She will make a worthy sacrifice!”_

_Before Nina could react, they surged towards her and sent her tumbling backwards into the pit. As she fell, the hissing became deafening, and she found herself screaming to drown it out. Golden wisps of light began flowing from her mouth, hovering around her for a second then dropping. She didn’t know what she was falling towards, but she recognized it as something ancient. A memory flashed through her mind- her first time in the jewelled meadow. She had felt the same thing then- something evil stirring._

_“NINA!” bellowed a familiar voice, jerking her from her thoughts. Eddie. He swooped towards her, looking like a blonde superman, and bundled her into his arms. He flew upwards, until they burst out of the pit and shot into the dusty red sky of the Underworld._

_“Are you okay?” he asked, panting, but Nina simply pointed behind him. The black smoke that had been gushing from the pit was shifting. As they watched, it solidified into the form of a giant snake, grinning menacingly at them._

***

Nina jerked awake to see Eddie doing the same beside her. She scrambled up off the damp grass, ready to flee to the safety of the house, but she wasn’t fast enough. He grabbed her arm and tugged her back.

“You can’t just run away after that.” he whispered furiously. “What was that snake thing?” 

She looked up at him, and he loosened his grip slightly. He could probably tell she was terrified. 

“I don’t know.” she breathed, before spinning out of his grip and sprinting away.

She almost made it. She was through the door, ready to hide upstairs. She only took a second to catch her breath, but that was all Eddie needed. He hurtled through the door and pushed her up against the wall, his arms forming a prison around her. He stood with his legs on either side of hers and however much she struggled, she couldn’t get away from him. She could feel the heat coming off him in waves as he leant down to look into her eyes.

“I need to know what’s going on.” h demanded through gritted teeth. 

 

Hot, salty tears ran down her face. The second he saw them, Eddie backed off, but he still held her there. He took a deep breath, and began whispering rapidly.

“ Look Neens, I know you’re scared right now, and I can tell it’s partly because of me. And I really, really need you to tell me why, because we need to figure out what the hell that thing was and we can’t do that if you’re always hiding from me.”

Nina let out a whimper, but Eddie didn’t stop. Instead, he pressed his forehead to hers, staring directly into her eyes, blue on green.

“Nina it’s physically hurting me not being around you. I don’t know why, and I don’t know how, but it’s killing me. The Osirian part of me won’t let it happen. Not again.”

As she looked into his eyes, Nina heard the truth in Eddie’s words, and suddenly the floodgates opened. She found herself blurting out everything, from the cruel words of her friends, to the manipulation of The Three. She even told him about the kissing, carefully leaving out the fact it might be her own hidden desire causing such an event. 

When she was done, Eddie scooped her up into a huge hug.

“I would never, ever try to hurt you.” he assured her, his voice muffled by her hair. “And from what Rufus said before they pushed you into that pit, The Three were trying to mess with your mind. We would never do those things to you.”

He put her down, and looked at her seriously. 

“You know that, right?” 

Nina nodded, and let herself smile for the first time in a week. Eddie grinned back, before letting out a huge yawn.

“Bedtime I think!” he joked. “We’ll tell the others in the morning. Sibuna!”

“Sibuna.” Nina agreed happily, before turning to climb the stairs to bed.


	11. Staring through cracks in doors is creepy and not advised

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joy and Nina make peace, Osmosis is real and Fabian is a bit of a bastard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I own nothing. I clearly don't advocate the negative behavior displayed by some characters.

Joy watched Nina carefully as she slipped into the room behind K.T. She had woken up to a text from Eddie,, calling an urgent Sibuna meeting. Correctly assuming something had happened last night, K.T had offered to stall Nina so that Eddie could speak to the others. To be honest, Joy didn’t see the point. All Eddie had said was that they had to be really cautious around Nina, and to just act normal. Then he had clammed up tight until the girl herself had entered to room. 

It was obvious immediately that Nina seemed to have given up whatever agenda she had for avoiding Eddie. She perched next to him on the edge of his bed, and leant into him. She looked, to put it simply, utterly abysmal, but then she had for the last few days. Now at least Joy could see a spark behind those green eyes. 

After an awkward minute and a half, consisting mainly of Nina and Eddie staring at each other and the others shifting around uncomfortably (Joy noted with interest that Patricia was studiously avoiding looking at the two) Jerome cleared his throat. It was a quiet noise, but Nina jumped about a foot in the air, before looking desperately at Eddie. He got to his feet, and began to talk.

“Right, so basically, Nina’s been avoiding us for the last few days.”

“No shit, Sherlock” Jerome interrupted.  
Eddie shot him a glare, and carried on.

“She’s been avoiding us because down in the Underworld, Senkhara, Ammut and Rufus have been using images of us to torture her. What we found out last night, is that they were trying to force her to be consumed by pain, so that she’d be able to find a big hole.”

At this point, Nina rolled her eyes, and broke in. 

“It’s not quite ‘A big hole’. It’s a giant pit which holds an ancient evil. It can only be found by a Chosen One in true despair, which is why they needed me. They pushed me in, and whatever is trapped in there managed to drain me of at least part of my energy. Then Eddie rescued me, but before we woke up, we saw the image of a huge snake in the sky. We think that even if the God himself hasn’t risen, part of its spirit has, which is just as dangerous.”

There was a pause as these words sunk in. Then K.T spoke up.

“So, I guess we research giant Egyptian snakes today?” she suggested.

“It’s been on my to do list for months!” Alfie teased. 

Nina looked relieved, and Eddie took the opportunity to break the meeting up. Everyone barged out of the room until it was only Nina, and Joy left. Eddie was waiting patiently at the door.

“Come on Sparky, we’ll be late to class.” he called.

“Actually Nina, I was wondering if you’d walk with me today.” Joy asked, shooting a pointed look at Eddie. 

Eddie shrugged at Nina, and ran to catch up with Alfie and Jerome. 

***

The two walked in silence for a little while. Joy suddenly realized that she had never really spent time alone with Nina. Unsure of how to start a conversation, she got straight to the point.

“How are things with Fabian..?” 

Nina let out a sigh. Before she could form an answer however, Joy launched into the speech she’d been practicing in her head for a year and a half.

“I just really wanted to say sorry for being so awful to you last year. I had no claim on Fabian and I was such a bitch. It’s just, he was the only guy in the house who was really nice to me, because of course Amber was dating Mick and Jerome was obviously in love with Mara, and Alfie had his crazed Amber obsession going on. I guess I just wanted things to go back to the way they were before I left, when Fabian and Patricia were my best friends and I took my anger out on you. Plus, I think a small part of me was a bit jealous that everyone was always busy not talking to me about your secret club, even though I was a part of everything. But yeah. I just really, truly wanted to say I was sorry and I hope you can forgive me.”

It took her a second to brave looking at Nina, but she needn’t have been so afraid. The American was grinning from ear to ear.

“I’ve been trying to work out when to say exactly the same to you!” she laughed. “I was so not myself that year, with all the Senkhara pressure, and Gran, that I ended up acting like some crazy psycho about Fabian. So of course I forgive you! I just hope you can forgive me too- I wasn’t exactly an angel myself!”

“Sounds like we should both just forgive and forget.” she giggled, linking her arm with Nina’s.

They moved onto more mundane topics. Joy was pleased to render Nina breathless with laughter at her impression of Eddie when he realised Alfie had eaten his last hoagie. She wondered if Eddie had anything to do with Nina’s sudden mood swing, and was just about to ask (subtly of course), when Nina nudged her in the ribs.

“So, you and Jerome?” she smirked. “Didn’t see that one coming!”

Joy let out a snort of laughter.

“Neither did I! It’s a long, long story.”

They walked into the drama classroom just as Joy was telling Nina about their first real date, and how it involved Letdown. Eddie and Jerome both shot them confused looks, but the two just smiled and huddled up in the corner. 

“So then, the bubbles start to overflow, just as Willow comes in carrying some piece of home made pottery, and of course she falls over and lands on the dog!” Joy giggled. “I think it was one of the weirdest dates in history.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Nina grinned. “One of Eddie’s was in the Frobisher Library. That’s a pretty weird place for anything.”

Something clicked in Joy’s brain.

“The Library!” she breathed, grabbing Nina’s arm and dragging her over to the rest of Sibuna. “The Sensen is in the library!”

“Where’d you get that idea from?” Patricia asked in confusion.

“Just something Nina said.” Joy answered dismissively. She didn’t want Trixie to know they’d been discussing her dates. “But think about it- ‘Let your mind be touched? Where else could it be?”

“But why would a flower be in a library?” Alfie questioned.

Joy shrugged. 

“It’s worth a try at least.” Nina said quietly. 

Eddie immediately began nodding his head, and with that it was agreed that they would search the Frobisher library after school. 

***

Lessons dragged by, and apart from Patricia almost knocking Willow out in a particularly violent game of dodge ball, it was uneventful. It was for this reason that she found herself running towards the Frobisher Library with a lot more gusto than she usually would. 

Once inside, Sibuna quickly split up and began inspecting the room. After half an hour of frantic searching, Alfie was moaning that he needed food, and Jerome was muttering something incredibly uncomplimentary about Robert Frobisher-Smythe under his breath. 

Patricia could agree with the sentiment as she ran her fingers through another layer of dust. She was bored, and dirty and-

“OUCH”

She sucked hard on her bleeding finger, then leant closer to the offending object. Her heart gave a leap when she saw what the splinter had been protruding from.

“I’ve found it!” she called. The others immediately fell silent, before clambering the stairs to where she stood. Patricia pointed silently to the Eye of Horus carved into the edge of the shelf. 

Eddie let out a snort. 

“Botany section. Is that supposed to be ironic?”

The group turned to stare at him incredulously. Eddie rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, I roomed with him for two years. Piss off.” 

Everyone laughed except Nina, who instead pressed her locket to the indentation. Before the red glow had even fully dissipated, the bookshelf retracted sideway into the wall, revealing a long flight of stone stairs.

“Robert has an unhealthy obsession with secret tunnels.” Patricia groaned, before following Nina down the stairs.

“Maybe he’s Batman!” Alfie teased from behind her. “And this is leading down to the Bat-cave.”

“Guys, quit joking about my Great-Grandpa! You know exactly who he-”

K.T broke off as they descended into the room. 

“Holy shit..” Eddie whispered in awe.

The room was immense. It had to be underground, as there were stalactites hanging from the cave ceiling, and the air had an odd coolness to it. In the centre of the cavern was a statue of an enormous man. He was lying on his back, raised by four gigantic pillars. Above him, suspended from the ceiling, hung a statue of a woman. There was a gap of a few metres between the two, but they both seemed to be reaching towards each other. 

***

Nina took a cautious step towards the statues. Suddenly, as if the movement had triggered it, Robert’s booming voice rang out through the chamber.

“At dawn, the lily will appear, when those parted meet. Yet fail to pass this test and you will accept more than just defeat.”

“I guess this is where the Sensen is hidden then.” Jerome stated, wandering up to where Nina stood. 

“And I suppose the statues are the two who are supposed to meet.” K.T agreed.

“Yeah, but how?” Patricia asked. “We can hardly clamber up and let one drop, can we?”

Alfie’s eyes lit up at the idea, but K.T stepped firmly on his foot to distract him. The last time Alfie had done something spur of the moment had involved her grandfathers tank, and she wasn’t in a hurry to repeat the experience. 

She turned to look at Nina, who was now pacing with a thoughtful look on her face. Then a look of understanding passed over her face.

“I’ve got it!”she called, clicking her fingers. “I’ve been trying to think why this looks so familiar. It’s just like a myth Fabian and I studied. Nut and Geb are Egyptian gods of the Sky and the Earth. They were lovers, but a prophesy was made that they would bear the child who would become King of the gods. Ra didn’t want that to happen, so he ordered the Air god Shu to separate the two.”

“So the statues are of Nut and Geb?” Alfie confirmed. 

Nina nodded, then looked puzzled again. She knelt down and ran her hand over the stone floor. She waved her hand a little, before looking disappointed.

“I think Sparky’s just realized we can’t drain the air from the room” Eddie teased. 

K.T rolled her eyes. She liked Nina, and was really pleased that she was in Sibuna again, as they had been struggling without either of their Ancient Egypt experts. But Eddie’s gentle teasing was reminding her of the way he had been with a certain other member, and that didn’t bode well for the harmony of the group. 

“We can’t do anything now. Why don’t we come back at dawn and try to figure it out then.” she suggested.

Everyone agreed, and they began to trail up the staircase. As they reached the warm air of the library, and the shelf slid shut behind them, Nina let out a huff of annoyance. 

“Bugger.” she swore. “I’ve left my books at school. I’ll meet you guys back at the house.”

“I can walk you over.” Eddie offered kindly. K.T tried to catch Patricia’s eye, but to both girls relief Nina shook her head. 

“I’ll just be a few minutes.

 

***

It was drizzling lightly as Nina ran through the grounds. Once inside, she walked briskly towards her locker, only stopping to smile politely at the last few stragglers leaving the building. The school finally fell silent as she reached the empty corridor, and flicked on the lights. Before she could move however, something large and grey slammed into her, pressing her up against the wall. Her heart pounded against her chest, and she was just about to scream out for help when she caught a waft of a familiar lemony scent.

She opened her eyes. Fabian was staring down at her, his eyes dark. For a second, she thought she saw a gold ring flash around the iris, but then she found her voice.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she whisper-shouted, still breathing heavily.

Fabian seemed to consider her for a second, before leaning in close. 

“You didn’t seem to mind when Eddie did the same last night.”

Nina let out a startled gasp. 

“That’s right.” he whispered, his voice dangerously low. “I saw you through the crack in the door. So much for not being together.”

***

Patricia contemplated Eddie over the top of her Science text book. He was still the same old Eddie, messy haired, with rumpled clothes as though he had just rolled out of bed, and a shit eating grin when he thought he was right. She had seen K.T’s pitying look earlier, and before that Joy’s, but she honestly didn’t feel sorry for herself. She had broken up with him, and that gave her a sense of control. Plus, Nina didn’t seem to be showing any interest in dating him. And sure, maybe she found herself cataloguing the number of times the two touched a day, and had to avert her eyes when Eddie teased Nina or played with her hair, but that was just normal girl stuff. She refused to let the fact that she had had incredibly strong feelings for Eddie ruin her friendship with Nina. 

After all, she had seen what had happened to Fabian and Eddie.

***

Alfie stared morosely at his phone. He had finally given in and texted Amber a few days ago, reasoning with himself that she was Nina’s best friend and had a right to know what was going on. It wasn’t as though he was doing anything wrong. What was wrong however, was the fact that he had heard nothing back. In the seventy two hours and thirty four minutes since he had sent the message, he had heard zilch. Which was making him a little restless.

Willow had noticed it, which had surprised him. She spent so much of her time hanging out with Mara- to ‘mend her broken heart’, and he so much running around with Sibuna, that they hardly saw each other. They hadn’t really spent any proper time together since before Nina got back, which he guessed wasn’t exactly ‘couple behaviour’. 

The thing was, Willow wasn’t particularly girlfriend-y. She was sweet and funny, and content to laugh at his stupid jokes and eat disgusting concoctions, but her head was so up in the clouds that she didn’t have much time for romance. The few dates they’d had had been organised by him, and she was almost as bad as Patricia in her hatred of fancy food. It was starting to feel a lot less like he had a girlfriend, and a bit like he had a lovable little sister. 

This was nothing at all to do with the fact that a certain blonde was constantly appearing in his mind.

***

“Fabian, we honestly weren’t doing anything. I don’t understand why you won’t believe me!” 

Nina struggled against the boys firm grip, but he refused to let her move.

“Not doing anything?” he spat. “ Do you usually have your conversations up against walls?”

Nina resisted the urge to say ‘Apparently ’ and glared instead.

“Exactly.” Fabian murmered. “So now everyone thinks I’m a jerk, when you were cheating on me all along.”

“For God’s sake Fabian, if you’d just let me explain-”

“I don’t want to hear your explainations. You hurt me more than you could ever imagine when you didn’t come back. It nearly killed me- hell, it was half the reason I was possessed by an ancient evil god. You didn’t even tell me in person, just a few empty words on a thin sheet of paper. You broke my heart and stomped on it, and now you’ve come back and broken it again. But then that’s what you do, isn’t it Nina? You hurt people.” 

Nina felt her anger bubble up inside of her. It rose, and frothed, and she knew she couldn’t contain it for much longer. 

“How long will it be before you hurt Eddie? Or will you not? Will you claim him as your Chosen One and be with him forever?” 

“I’ll try to resist marrying him in that little chapel in hell.” she snarled. “You know, the one next to the pit of festering bodies.”

Fabian smirked, and Nina felt all her self pity come to a boil and overflow. Tears of frustration ran down her cheeks as she began to rant.

“Did you ever stop to think maybe it hurt me too?” she shouted. “Did you ever think how awful it was for me, being stuck in America with my Gran sick and having to be away from you? Having to send that letter, and know that you might move on to some other girl while I sat alone? It killed me Fabian. I thought my heart would break from missing you so much, and I thought about you every single day.” 

She thought she saw something flicker in his eyes, and ploughed on. 

“ I wanted so much to get in touch with you, but at the time I thought I’d never be able to come back and I couldn’t bear talking to you but not being able to be with you. I thought I would never see you again, and it made me want to die. All while feeling constantly ill because I was separated from Eddie? “

Nina realised a second too late that mentioning Eddie was the wrong thing to do. Fabians face twisted into a grimace, and for a second she thought he might hit her.

He did the complete opposite. Pressing her body even closer to his, he leant down and pressed his lips to hers. Nina was so shocked that she stopped crying.

Fabian’s lips brushed gently against her own. His mouth was warm, and soft, and he tasted like the boy she had fallen in love with. She unclenched her teeth, and began kissing him back. Her knees were turning to water, and all that keeping her up was his hand at her back, holding her tight against him. She could feel the heat of his palm against her spine, fingers carefully flexing against her taut muscles. Her body was on fire and sparks flew in the pit of her stomach.

The kiss became more forceful, and Nina could feel the muscles of his chest bunching as he shifted. Then, suddenly, he broke away, leaving her gasping desperately for breath. 

“Send Eddie my regards.” Fabian sneered, before turning on his heel and striding away.


	12. Nina learns applicable life skills from Disney

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sibuna has a gossip, Nina is a badass and none of this science makes sense.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I own nothing.

Back at the House, Sibuna spread out across the living room, a comfortable silence between them. Jerome lay on the sofa, Joy curled up like a cat at his feet; scouring the internet for anything on Nut and Geb. K.T and Alfie had retreated to a corner as they so often did, and had their heads together conspiratorially. Patricia had headed to her room, and a disgruntled Eddie had been sent to track down Mara, Willow, and Fabian by Trudy, after assuring the housemother that Nina was just over at the school and would be back soon. 

“You found anything interesting?” Jerome called over to his girlfriend.

Joy shook her head. 

“At the moment it looks like we’re going to have to head down there at dawn and hack through the ropes.”

“Urgh, so much effort” Alfie moaned. 

Joy shot him a disapproving look. 

“It’ll be harder for Nina.” she said sympathetically. “Tonight’s her first descent after she was pushed down that pit.”

“At least next week she can sleep during the day.” K.T spoke up. “Half term and all that.”

“Speaking of Martin, is Stutter-Rutter ever going to get his arse back in gear and start helping us again?” Jerome asked.

“Fat chance.“ snorted Alfie. “Fabian is usually a nice guy, but when he holds a grudge, he really holds a grudge.” 

“Isn’t this all a bit over the top though?” K.T mused. “Just because he’s jealous of Nina and Eddie?”

“Uh, do you not remember Sinner Fabian earlier this year?” Alfie asked incredulously. “That was how I got him to show his freaky eyes- by mentioning Nina. She‘s always made him different.”

“Not in a bad way though.” defended Joy. When everyone turned to look at her in surprise, she let out an indignant huff.

“If you idiots haven’t noticed, we’re friends now. But anyway, she’s usually good for Fabes- stops him being such a wimp. It’s Eddie’s involvement that’s made him go batty.”

“Seeing as our Chosen Pair and Trixie are both conveniently absent, can we talk about this?” Jerome wondered aloud.

“Best time if you ask me.” Alfie insisted. “I mean, does anyone actually know if anything’s going on?”

K.T shrugged. 

“Eddie broke up with Patricia, sort of- I think she managed to dump him before he finished dumping her.”

“Nina still seems pretty bummed about Fabian, but she does talk about Eddie a lot.” Joy admitted. “I don’t think they’re going out, but there seems to be something there.”

“So basically we know nothing.” Jerome grumbled. “Great.”

“Not quite nothing.” Alfie argued. “I mean-”

He was cut off by the slamming of the house door, and the arrival of a very wet, very tearful Nina Martin.

***

Jerome was the first to recover from the shock. 

“What the fuck happened to you Martin?” he asked, shucking his cardigan and moving to wrap it around the shivering girls shoulders. 

“It’s raining.” Nina answered weakly. 

“Rain doesn’t usually make you cry.” Joy observed, as the rest of Sibuna crowded around. 

Nina looked pitifully up at them all. Her hair looked as though she had been pulled through a hedge backwards, her clothes were rumpled and her lips swollen. 

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’d been kissing someone.” Jerome teased, hoping to lighten the mood. To his surprise, Nina just started crying harder.

“Come on Neens, calm down.” K.T whispered soothingly. “Just tell us what happened.”

“Is Eddie around?” Nina mumbled.

K.T shook her head. 

“I could try to find him if you-”

“NO.” Nina interrupted forcefully. Seeing K.T’s shocked look, she took a deep breath. 

“Don’t get Eddie, he’ll kill him. He can probably already feel I’m upset. “

“Kill who?” Alfie demanded. “Is it Victor or something? Did he hurt you?”

“No, no, I’m just being silly.” She gave Alfie a watery smile. “ Fabian’s just a bit angry at the moment, and apparently feels the best way to let it out is to pin me against walls and shout at me.”

“And…kiss you?” K.T asked, confused. 

Nina nodded. 

“It shouldn’t be a big deal I know, but it was just like what Senkhara makes him do in the Underworld and it freaked me out.”

“Forget Eddie, I’ll hit him if you like!” Jerome offered. He felt a surge of protectiveness towards Nina. She had such a huge task on her shoulders, and there was Rutter catching her on a sneak attack when she didn’t even want to be kissed. It also didn’t hurt that he still held a little grudge against Fabian for the way he had treated Joy.

Nina laughed, wiping her eyes. She stood up, and squared her shoulders

“Thanks for the offer Jerome, but it’s fine. I can handle Fabian Rutter.”

***

She landed hard, her feet slamming onto the dusty ground. She was beside the pit, but she could not feel the presence of the Three. All was silent, except for a low murmuring deep below. 

“Nina?” 

She turned, and saw Eddie, but kept her distance.

“Let me see your eyes.” she called.

He stepped closer, and though he looked puzzled, seemed to sense she didn’t want to be touched. She leant in, and breathed a sigh of relief as she saw his eyes were their natural shade. 

“How long have I been out?” she asked.

“Only a minute or so.” Eddie replied with a smile. “They must be somewhere else.”

Nina nodded uneasily. Before she could fully form her thoughts however, Eddie extended his hand to her.

“Come on Chosen One. Let’s go home.”

***

“Okay, so, plan time?” asked Joy, once Sibuna had gathered in the statue chamber. 

As Alfie and Eddie debated the pros and cons of trying to cut through the ropes, Nina inspected the statues. She was sure that there was something she was missing, something that linked into the myth, but what? 

Wiping her sticky fingers on her jeans, she attempted to think.  
Wait.

Sticky fingers?

Nina rubbed her thumb and index finger together, and sure enough, a slightly green tinged ball of goo formed. Looking closer at the statue of Geb, she could see a light coat lining the stone. She knelt down, and found it was also coating the floor, spreading outwards to the walls.

“Um, you okay there Nina?” Patricia called in confusion.

Jumping to her feet, she nodded. 

“I have an idea.”

“Well what is it then?” Jerome demanded impatiently.

“I need you all to go stand outside.”

“That doesn’t really sound like an idea.” Alfie stated. 

Nina shot Eddie a pleading look. She could feel the waves of uncertainty emanating from him, and ‘Are you sure?’ echoed through her mind. She gave a short nod. She needed to do this alone. She had let the others face her challenges for far too long.

Eddie let out a sigh.

“Come on guys, it’s all we’ve got.” 

Alfie and Jerome began to protest, but Patricia and K.T ushered them up the stairs. Nina felt the brief thought ‘Stay safe’ flash through her head, before the door closed, and she was alone. 

Looking around the now empty room, she allowed herself to really think. The substance that lined the walls reminded her of the explosive gel in one of the tunnel challenges. When touched by the mixture of liquids, it had caught fire and burnt through the blockade around the door. If Robert had used it once, he might again, but how would fire help?

A voice that sounded suspiciously like Fabian filled her mind.

“When fire is created in a confined space it drains all the oxygen. That’s why it becomes so hard to breath.”

“So when the gel catches fire, it drains the air, and Nut and Geb can meet.” Nina said aloud. “But how do I set the fire?”

As if in answer to her question, her locket began to glow. In the palm of Geb’s hand burned an Eye of Horus. She touched her locket to it, and a compartment slid open. 

Nina reached in, and pulled out a small bottle of yellowish liquid. It was tempting to just pour it straight onto the floor, but she knew she would never be able to reach the point where the statues met once the fire had begun. She tucked the little bottle into the pocket of her jeans, and took off her hoodie. Feeling more than a little like Mulan, she looped it around the pillar, clutching tightly at the sleeves. Then she began to shimmy her way up towards the dais the statue lay on.

***

Eddie paced back and forth on the library landing, drumming his fingers. He didn’t feel right about leaving Nina to solve this one on her own, but he recognized that determined look and knew there was no point in resisting.

He thought instead of their journey to the Underworld. Nina had been there for a much shorter time than usual, and he couldn’t help wondering why. Were The Three done tormenting her? Or was he just being lulled into a false sense of security?

***

She balanced beside Geb’s head, on a tiny patch of flat stone. From here, the six foot drop looked enormous. She tried not to focus on it as she pulled the stopper from the vial, and poured the liquid over the edge.

The reaction was immediate. The moment the liquid hit the ground, flames burst into existence, spreading out across the room. They began to lick up the sides of the pillars, but this was like no fire she had ever seen before. It filled every inch of the space, and Nina could almost feel the air vanishing from the room.

She clutched her hoodie to her face, hoping to block out some of the acrid smoke. Just when she felt like choking, a mechanical screeching echoes out from above her. Staring upwards, Nina gave a sigh of relief as the statue of Nut began to lower towards her. It inched downwards, until finally Nut’s lips touched Geb’s. There was a great burst of light, before a small, purple flower formed in the space between their mouths. 

Coughing, and blinking tears from her soot filled eyes, Nina reached towards it.

***

“Do you think we can go back in yet?” K.T wondered. 

Eddie was about to answer, but suddenly his mind was filled with images of huge towers of fire. 

“Something’s wrong!” he shouted.

Ignoring the others questions, he shoved the bookcase aside, and sprinted down the steps.

He was greeted by a wall of intense heat. Fires raged throughout the chamber, and the air was filled with black smoke.

“NINA!” he roared, searching frantically for any sign of life. He finally spotted her- a dark shadow curled up a few feet away.

Eddie surged forwards, and gathered the injured girl up in his arms. Tossing her over his shoulders in a fireman’s lift, he turned tail and pelted back up the stairs, letting the door slam shut behind him.

“What happened?” Joy gasped, but Eddie wasn’t listening. He lay Nina on the floor, and as if on autopilot, took her hands in his. He let himself become consumed in his power, and concentrated hard on his wish for her to be alive. 

***

Patricia watched in awe as Eddie began to give out a deep purple glow. It pulsed from the spot where his heart was, down his arms, before spreading through Nina, wiping her skin clean of cuts and burns. 

The light grew brighter and brighter, consuming the two, before fading completely. 

The group waited, all eyes on Nina. Suddenly she took in a great gasping breath, and sat up.

Alfie gave K.T’s hand a tight squeeze, and Joy let out a sigh of relief, leaning into Jerome. But all Patricia could see was Eddie, staring at Nina like she was the only thing in the world. She let a small tear fall as he flung his arms around the girl, who in turn clung desperately onto him. Patricia could see Nina’s lips moving, repeatedly forming the word sorry, as she sobbed into Eddie’s shirt. Just when Patricia thought she would have to look away from the intimacy of it all, Nina pulled back, and held out her fist. Resting innocently in the palm of her hand, sat the Sensen.


	13. Sleepovers and punching people

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mara has an idea, Jerome gets angry and the holiday has begun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I own nothing. I'm not great at writing male characters I don't think, so sorry if this is rubbish.

The first morning of the autumn half term dawned cold and bright. Mara dragged her bag noisily down the stairs into the entrance hall, Willow chattering excitedly behind her. She was looking forward to going home. Maybe she just needed to get away from Anubis for a while to clear her head. 

She stuttered to a halt as she walked into the living room. Spread across the sofas in a massive puppy pile, lay the rest of the house. Alfie was curled up in an armchair, while K.T sleepily hugged his dangling leg, her back against the coffee table. Patricia lay sprawled beside her, arm flung over her head, and resting her head on the girls lap was Joy. 

Mara felt her heart twinge painfully as she realised that Jerome was clasping Joys hand, spread-eagled beside the fireplace. Above him on the sofa was Nina, and snuggled behind her, Eddie. As she watched, the boy gave a drowsy huff, and buried his nose into the snoozing American’s hair.

“Wow,” Willow whispered, making her jump. “Looks like we were the only ones not invited.”

“Us and Fabian.” Mara murmured back. 

For a second she wished desperately that Mick was still at Anubis. Not romantically- they had sorted that out last summer, but she wanted him here all the same. She had spent the last couple of years feeling as though she was sniffing around the fringes of something big. But every time she got close, something would distract her, and she’d be drawn away again. It would be nice to have someone else around with no idea what secrets the rest of house were keeping.

“Come on, the taxi’ll be here soon.” called Willow.

Mara turned towards her friend, away from the group in the lounge, and smiled. She had an idea.

***

Eddie stirred awake slowly, warm and surrounded by the scent of vanilla and honey. He blearily opened his eyes into a curtain of toffee coloured hair, and smiled, nuzzling further into Nina’s neck. He heard her sleepy chuckle as his breath ghosted over her skin, and the glowing feeling in his chest burned a little brighter.

She was alive. 

He could sense rustling around them, and knew he ought to move soon, but for a second he wanted to wallow in the happiness he felt. Nina was safe, and they only had two more lines of the riddle to solve. Sibuna might actually do this.

“Rise and shine!!!” Alfie bellowed in his ear.

If he didn’t kill them all first.  
“Jeez, burst an eardrum much Alfie?” Eddie groaned, sitting up slowly and wiping a hand over his face. 

Alfie merely shot him a meaningful glance, gesturing first towards Patricia, then towards the hallway where Trudy could be heard clattering around.

He was suddenly alert, kicking Jerome awake and flailing at Alfie to do the same for the girls. Then he leant down to Nina, whispering a hurried ‘sit up’.

She did so without question, grabbing the book he shoved into her hands and leaning into arm of the sofa. By the time Trudy entered the room the whole group was innocently reading or texting, despite their slightly rumpled clothing and messy hair.

“You’re all up bright and early.” she said with a smile as she bustled towards the kitchen. “Glad it’s the holidays I bet.”

Sibuna mumbled a sleepy agreement, as the smell of pancakes began to fill the room.

“I’m only making one batch today lovelies, then I’m off for the day. Mara and Willow have already left, and Victor’s done one of his vanishing acts, so I’ll expect you all to be sensible.”

Eddie grinned, catching Nina’s eye, and nodded fervently.   
“Sure thing Troods. We’ll probably just do some research. Homework to be done and all..”

Trudy laughed, dumping the plate onto the table as she walked into the hall. 

“See you this evening dearie.”

***

After a quick round of showers (and rapid pancake eating) Sibuna sat crowded around Nina’s laptop. Jerome had positioned himself carefully on her left, while Eddie stood at her right, and he could sense Joy staring at him in confusion. He flicked his eyes towards Fabian’s room, and a look of realisation spread across her face. She nodded approvingly.

“So we’re looking for the sister of Osiris, right?” Alfie wondered aloud. “Who would that be?”

Nina looked considering. 

“To be honest it could be a couple of people. The legends get a bit muddled- sometimes Osiris has two sisters, sometimes one. I think it’ll either be Nephthys or Isis.”

“Wasn’t Isis his wife?” Patricia broke in, looking digusted.

“Kinky” Jerome whispered.

Nina whacked him on the arm, before turning to Patricia. 

“Sometimes, yeah. Gods and goddesses don’t seem to be that fussed by incest in the myths. To be fair, they also had sex with various animals, so it wasn’t the worst thing.”

“Creepy Ancient Egyptians.” K.T agreed. 

Jerome was about joke back, when he felt Nina tense beside him. He glanced towards the doorway, and sure enough, Fabian was hovering there. Eddie seemed to have noticed Nina’s discomfort and was looking around for it’s source, but Alfie had helpfully shifted to block his view. 

“Hey, Eddie, didn’t you see a book on Egyptian gods down in great grandpa’s study?” K.T asked suddenly. 

She subtly nudged Nina, who broke out of her startled rabbit pose to nod in agreement.

“Why don’t we head down through the oven passage and check that out then?” Patricia chimed in. 

Eddie, who seemed to be silently having a conversation with Nina, waited a second, before nodding sharply and gesturing towards the kitchen. When he noticed Alfie and Jerome were still hovering, he turned to them.

“You guys not coming?”

“We’ll wait up here- keep an eye out for Vicky.” Jerome bluffed, stepping slightly closer to Alfie.

Eddie narrowed his eyes at the pair, before nodding and following the girls through the tunnel.

***

Alfie breathed a sigh of relief as the door shut behind Eddie. He shot a look at Jerome, before they turned in union to face the living room.

“Rutter.” Jerome said, his voice hard.

The brunette twitched, sheepishly running a hand through his hair. 

“Hi guys..”

Alfie raised an eyebrow, and felt Jerome cross his arms beside him. It seemed they were in silent agreement over what was to happen.   
“Anything you want to talk about, Fabian?” Alfie asked, taking a step forward.

A flicker of annoyance passed over the boys face. He set his shoulders, and Alfie was once again reminded of his friends time as a Sinner.

“Nothing at all.” he said, edgily. “Something bothering you Alfie? Other than your stomach I mean”

Alfie felt a curl of hot anger rising into his throat. Fabian never would have said something like that before. It was ridiculous to let it wind him up, but to be honest he had already reached breaking point. Nina mattered to him a lot- she had been one of the first in the house to really appreciate him, after Amber, and Fabian was hurting her. He had never seen her as upset as she had been the evening before, not even during the whole ‘Jack Jackal’ ordeal. 

Jerome spoke before he could answer.

“You hurt Nina last night Rutter. That doesn’t really go down all that well with the rest of us.”

Fabian’s eyes flashed, but Alfie couldn’t see any guilt. He looked distant, and very, very angry.

“And I suppose you’d know all about hurting girls, hey Jerome?” he spat.

Jerome was across the room before Alfie could even react. He slammed Fabian into the doorway, arm like a barrier over his throat.

“Don’t. Test. Me.” he snarled. 

Fabian smirked up at him, eyes glinting sharply. 

“Why on earth not? Planning on getting Daddy to come sort me out.”

Alfie punched him, hard. He felt his fist collide with bone, and pulled back, ready to take another swing.

“What the hell is going on with you Fabian?” he gasped. “There is no way this is only about Nina.”

Fabian shoved them backwards at the sound of her name. Jerome stumbled into the sofa with a grunt, and Alfie jerked into the doorframe. 

“Of course it isn’t about Nina.” he growled, seeming to struggle to form the words. “Check. Check my room. They’ll be back in a minute.” 

Alfie looked around, but there was nobody in sight. 

“There’s nobody here.”   
Fabian roared in frustration. 

“Check my room. Tell Trudy I’ve gone home. I need to.. Argh!!!”

He shuddered violently, before abruptly changing the subject.

“Amber will never come back for you Alfie.”

With that, Fabian turned tail and stormed out of the house, leaving a shocked Jerome and Alfie in his wake.


	14. Secrets cause everyone trouble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Secrets are dangerous, Goddesses are worse and Sibuna blows shit up.

Alfie’s phone vibrated in his pocket, breaking the silence that filled the living room. He glanced at it distractedly, before shaking his head and looking to Jerome. 

“It’s Eddie. Nina found something.”

Jerome blinked, shell shocked for a second before registering Alfie’s words.

“Right, yeah. Where are they?”

***

Alfie and Jerome caught the group up in the reflector room. Eddie was glad to have some sensible company- the girls were acting weirdly shifty, but apparently everyone was acting like they were hyped up on caffeine today. He turned back to Nina who had just finished dusting off the engraving on the stone wall.

“Can you read it Sparky?” he asked, frowning at the hieroglyphs. 

“Yes. It doesn’t make much sense though, I’m not sure I’m right.”

“Give it a go anyway Neens.” Patricia encouraged.

“As I stitched together my husband, a family is united by truth. To pass, as many secrets as pieces must be told.”

“Pieces of what?” K.T wondered.

“If we’re looking for Isis, maybe pieces of Osiris?.” Joy guessed.

Nina nodded. “So fourteen secrets before we can pass.”

“I’m assuming it’s nothing as simple as just thinking them.” Jerome grumbled. 

“When is it ever simple?” Patricia snarked back.

Eddie ignored the ensuing chatter in favour of doing a pointless headcount. He knew exactly how many Sibuna members were there- fourteen secrets meant two each- but right now he needed to distract himself from what was about to happen. The group was clinging together now, but one wrong move could split them all up. They had already lost Amber and Fabian, and he didn’t think they would be able to hold together after another blow. 

“So how secret do you think the secrets need to be?” Alfie wondered. “Can it be something dumb like.. I cry when rabbits die on the discovery channel?”

He stared expectantly at the carving on the wall, but nothing happened.

“Apparently not.” The boy glanced around at his smirking friends and groaned.   
“Shut up! They’re fuzzy and cute and then they’re dead. It’s sad.”

“As sweet as that confession was Alfie, I think it needs to be something really personal.”

“K.T’s right.” Nina agreed. “I don’t know how, but I can tell it has to be a sacrifice.”

An unhappy silence followed that ominous statement. Eddie knew everyone was wondering how much they could trust those around them. He was thinking the same if he was honest.

“Whatever happens, we all need to swear not to let this come between us.” Joy piped up. Everyone nodded, shifting nervously as they waited for someone else to volunteer.

K.T took a deep breath, then stepped forwards. 

“I’ll go first. 

***

“Sometimes I wish that I had never met my great-grandfather, if only it meant my Grandpa could have lived. And I worry that without Fabian’s help, we’ll never finish this quest.”

K.T squeezed her eyes shut as she said her last few words, but they flew open again at the sound of a gasp. Where the hieroglyphs had been were now golden lines, shifting and changing before settling in the outline of a sarcophagus.

“Go K.T!” Alfie hooted, pulling the girl back into a comforting hug. She gave a sigh of relief, before turning back to the group. They had formed a vague queue - Jerome a the front, then Joy, Patricia, Alfie, Nina and Eddie. Jerome gave Joy’s hand a squeeze, the began to speak.

“I hate myself for needing other people to be happy, and I feel cheated by the fact that my first love wasn’t real.”

“I’ve lost all trust in my family after what happened three years ago, and I still feel as though I betrayed Mara for loving Jerome.”

“Even though she’s one of my best friends, I’m still crazy jealous of Nina, and I still struggle to trust Joy after the last couple of years.”

“I’m going to break up with Willow, because I’m still in love with Amber.”

“I feel like I have to work harder to prove myself after leaving you all last year. And sometimes I worry you all wish I hadn’t come back.”

As Nina broke off, the golden sarcophagus shone brighter than ever, leaving a single empty space in it’s centre. She stepped back as Eddie moved past her, letting her fingers brush over his in solidarity. He gave her a small smile before setting his shoulders and facing the wall. 

“ A part of me hates my dad for never helping me understand this responsibility.” 

Eddie paused, clenching his jaw. He wondered if he could get away with not saying it. Would anything else work? But even as the thought formed, he knew it wouldn’t. Isis would only take the most difficult sacrifices. He closed his eyes, and muttered.

“And I think I might be falling in love with Nina.”

***

Alfie had once watched a documentary on space where the guy presenting had been talking about comets. He said that if a comet were to smash into the earth right this second, nobody would feel it for almost a minute. Then, all hell would break loose.

Eddie’s confession was the comet.

As he trailed off, there was a split second of silence. Then, triggered by the final secret, the golden sarcophagus smashed through the stone wall, shooting what almost looked like red lasers at the cavern roof. They burnt jagged patterns in the stone, which began to collapse in on itself.

Jerome and Alfie shoved the girls further down the tunnel to safety as rock rained down from above, but Eddie was too far away. Before Sibuna’s helpless gaze, an enormous chunk fell heavily onto Eddie’s head. The boy went down like a tonne of bricks, the gash on his forehead already trickling blood, and Nina let out an anguished cry. 

“NO!” 

K.T tried to hold her back, but Nina practically growled and she leapt back as if burned. The Chosen One sprinted to her Osirian’s side.

“Not like this.” she screamed at the glowing sarcophagus. “Never like this.”

The earthquake seemed to grow stronger and the rocks kept tumbling down, but now they had turned a deep, hideous red. Nina seemed to notice this, and she froze, face upturned to the onslaught. When she spoke, her voice echoed around the cavern, curling into the empty spaces and reaching into the darkness.

“You will not take him. He is not your husband. You will leave him ALONE!

As she screamed the final word, Nina’s whole body seemed to be infused with a golden warmth. Her hair blew crazily around her face, twisting into shapes and words that looked ancient and deadly. And her eyes…her eyes had turned a bright, beautiful gold. 

The air in the tunnels crackled as if electrified as The Chosen One threw her hand into the air. The red rocks froze, suspended above her. Then, as if drawn back on a puppeteers string, they began to ascend back into the ceiling. The sarcophagus slid back into the wall, the hole it had crashed through re-plastering itself. Soon, the only signs left of anything strange were a single red rock hovering directly over Nina’s lap, and Eddie’s unconscious body bleeding out on the tunnel floor. 

Nina faced the rest of her friends, golden eyes gleaming with unshed tears.

“When I say, cover your eyes.” she whispered, voice barely audible. 

She bent over her fallen Osirian, pressing one hand to his bleeding wound, the other to the space over his heart. Golden tears began pouring down her cheeks, but she didn’t seem to notice. Instead, she pressed her forehead to Eddie’s, whispering too quietly to hear. Her entire body seemed to light up as she finished, shimmering with golden light. It flowed through her from it’s root at her heart, and when it reached the place their skin met, began to seep into Eddie. 

“Now”

As soon as Alfie had thrown his hands over his eyes, a burst of white lighting seemed to shatter through the room. It seared the backs of his eyeballs and he could feel the blistering heat on his skin. The light grew brighter and brighter until it was painful to even exist near it. Then, as quickly as it had begun, it vanished.

***

Joy slowly brought her hands down from her face, blinking white spots from her eyes. She felt Jerome’s hand slip into hers, before turning to the scene in front of her. 

Nina looked half dead. She was still crouched in front of Eddie, staring at him with desperate eyes. A single gold tear lay innocently on her cheek. 

The very earth seemed to hold its breath.  
.  
.  
.  
Eddie opened his eyes.

“Nina?” he rasped.

“I’m here. Eddie, I’m right here” she breathed. 

Joy could hardly bear to look, the moment seemed so intimate. Eddie lifted a trembling hand, pressing it softly to Nina’s cheek. He let his fingers wander softly to the golden tear perched innocently against her pale skin, and with the other arm, flicked open the locket resting around her neck.

“Tear of Gold, check.” he whispered, letting the precious droplet fall, still perfectly formed, into the cavity within.

Nina let out a watery giggle and threw herself at him, crying in earnest now as she buried her face into his chest. 

“YOU HAVE DONE WELL CHOSEN ONE.” boomed a voice.

Everyone jumped, jerking their eyes away from the tableau in front of them. The voice was harsh, but undeniably female. It certainly was not one they’d heard before.

Except, apparently for Nina. She lifted her head slowly, raising herself onto her knees.

“And what will you give me in return, Isis. An eye for an eye, don’t they say?”

There was a grinding sound which could almost have been a laugh.

“I forgot how feisty you were, Chosen One. Perhaps I was right to return you to this place.”

Nina went sheet white. She blinked, twice, and Joy could almost hear her heart thud against her ribs.

“You sent me those visions?” she wondered aloud. “You brought me back here?”

“Of course my child. Did you never wonder why your kind are born surrounded by 7’s? That is my protection, gifted to the ones who carry my blessing. It is how you and your friends shall reach my husband and brother in the Underworld.”

“But why? Why will I need to find Osiris? And what do you mean my friends? They can’t reach the Underworld.”

“You must find your own path, Child of Amneris. Simply know that a great evil is coming, and you must be the ones to defeat it.”

The last red stone then floated over to Nina, and a silver chalice appeared in front of her. The stone seemed to melt, becoming a deeper, darker colour, before dropping as liquid into the goblet. 

“You have all that you need, Chosen One. I give you my blessing and my protection.”


	15. Blood and tears should not be consumed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sibuna cooks, Fabian struggles and an old friend is on the way

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> None of these characters are mine.

Jerome had to admit that if he had been Nina or Eddie, he would have been rushing to make the Draft immediately. However, he guessed that was why they had been chosen by loony Egyptian Gods to carry out missions rather than him. In reality, after they had all stumbled wearily back into Anubis House proper, Sibuna had disbanded; Nina whispering something about needing a rest and Eddie tentatively following her, Patricia staring long and hard at their backs. He had a lot of sympathy for Trixie, but turning to his girlfriend he knew how hard it was to resist a force pulling two people together, as much as they might want to resist. 

Joy looked back at him with a soft smile before tipping her head in Alfie’s direction. The boy’s dark skin had an unusual paleness beneath it, one which Jerome knew he should try to fix. With a raise of his eyebrows, he silently agreed with Joy and strode over to his best mate as she ushered a confused K.T out of the kitchen.

“He-ey buddy…” he began awkwardly, “…How ‘bout them Egyptian gods huh?”

Alfie turned to him looking slightly dazed. Jerome absently wondered if it was the thoughts of Amber that had made him this way, before his friend spoke.

“Fabian was being really odd before all that in the tunnels, wasn’t he?”

Ah yes. Although it may have felt that way to Jerome at times, not all the complications in their lives were currently to do with relationships. Jerome nodded hesitantly, waiting for the boy to continue his train of thought.

“But there were a few seconds where he seemed back to normal. Just after I..um”

“Clocked him one?” Jerome suggested, attempting in vain to lighten the mood.

“Yeah. He said something about searching his room?”

Now that Alfie mentioned it, Jerome did remember that-it was as though something had swept away a sheet of dust over the memory. How he had forgotten he couldn’t understand- Rutter’s face had looked almost pained as he stuttered out the instruction. He supposed he had been blindsided by the cutting remark thrown at Alfie afterwards. 

Without needing to verbalise his intention, Jerome crossed the hall towards Fabian and Eddie’s room. He tentatively pushed the door inwards, poking his head around the frame to check Eddie hadn’t holed up inside. As luck would have it, the room was empty, although his eyes did catch on a jumper on the Osirian’s bed which was clearly female. He ignored the piece of clothing and all it implied, beckoning Alfie in behind him.

“Bloody hell, they’re messier than us” he whispered, inching his way towards Fabian’s side of the room. Alfie followed, carefully avoiding the various shirts and underwear draped around the space.

“Where have all of Fabian’s textbooks gone?” his friend wondered aloud.

Jerome looked around to see that Alfie was right. Where previously Fabian’s bedside and shelves would have been filled with books and sheets of paper, now he could only see clothes. Even the guitar the boy cherished so much was not immediately visible, only noticeable if someone were to rummage behind the desk. As he pondered this development, Alfie gave an exclaimation behind him.

“Jerome-look at this!”

He turned to his friend who had clearly been digging through Rutter’s bed sheets-not a job Jerome envied. In Alfie’s hand was a small blue bead-the type that could be found on a woman’s bracelet or necklace. It seemed achingly familiar, and when Jerome leant closer he could see why- carved in minute detail into the surface was a tiny mark of Anubis.

***

Far away from Anubis House, yet closer than any of the residents would think, a suitcase rattled across concrete. The harsh clacking of it’s owner’s heels kept perfect rhythm with the train rolling into the platform alongside. The sound of wheels rolled to a silent stop as an impeccably manicured hand extracted a pink phone from a pocket. The owner of the hand paused, considering, before apparently making up their mind. They boarded the train. 

***

Nina Martin was getting really fucking tired of crying all the time. If Anubis House was Hogwarts she might as well be bloody moaning Myrtle for the sheer number of tears she had shed in the past few days. It was getting pretty damn boring. 

Drawing herself up with this new resolution, she wiped a hand over her reddened cheeks. Across the room, Eddie seemed to sense her change in mood, straightening up where he was perched on K.T’s bed. Silently, the Chosen One considered her Osirian. The gash on his head had been healed-exactly like magic, and they had both washed themselves clean of blood. However, Eddie’s eagerness to get her safely to the sanctity of her room and changed into clean clothes (turning awkwardly away as she did so of course) had meant that while she was pristine, wrapped up cosily in her favourite jeans and a soft jumper, the boy across from her was still filthy. The dust contouring his face gave him a rugged look, highlighting all the more clearly the golden sheen of his hair. 

Brown eyes met her green ones as she let out a ragged breath. Through one look, she tried to communicate everything she couldn’t with words.

“I care for you”

“I know”

“But I can’t think about anything, anything apart from this mystery at the moment”

“I know”

Afterwards….we’ll talk, okay? But right now, we just need to be us. We need Sibuna to be with us. Afterwards..

“Nina, I understand. It’s okay. It’s all okay.”

“Thank you” she said aloud, smiling weakly.

“No problem Sparky,” Eddie winked”…now, how about some cooking?”

******************  
 _He strode furiously through the grounds, stumbling over tree roots and walking blindly into branches. No animal dared disturb him, partially due to the racket he created, partially due to the aura surrounding him. Darkness and shadows clung to the boy, swirling and contorting around him, shrouding his features in a fog._

_Eventually he reached his destination, although that suggested intent. He had no wish to be in this place at all, no fond memories of the ramshackle hut on the edge of the grounds that had once held two lost girls and a madman. Yet here he was, drenched to the bone, shivering in the shadow of the structure._

_The air around him seemed to thin. He was caught in an inescapable vacuum, all autonomy gone. The sensation grew and grew, until his reflection in the filthy windows shifted and changed, suddenly encompassing three faces, none of them his own._

_“We grow short in strength boy.” they whispered_

_“These appearances hinder us, prevent us from tormenting the Chosen One in the world below._

_A flash of satisfaction crosses his mind, before it is ruthlessly quashed. It is too late though, for they have felt it, as they feel all things now, feeding on the chaos and turmoil within.  
“Oh, he is a clever one isn’t he?” the blonde head breaths, her tongue on the air as though to taste his distress._

_“Headstrong too, to force his way through our barriers. Do you love her, little boy? Does your blackened heart ache for her pain?”_

_He feels his head shake against his own will, as though he is a puppet tangled in their strings. His eyes stray to the necklace tucked close to his skin, hanging so close to his heart. He suppresses a hint of satisfaction as his gaze catches on an empty space, a missing link in the chain. The voices continue to swirl around him, but now there is a chink in the armour, space to manoeuvre._

_Fabian has always been a clever boy. Now he can only hope his friends will follow his clue._

***

Oddly enough, the first thought that popped into Patricia’s head as she sat in a circle with her ex-boyfriend, the granddaughter of the first of the Frobisher line, three acolytes and the Chosen on was where the hell had Alfie rustled up a portable stove from? The second was that she hoped none of their secret Egyptian ingredients were flammable. 

Sibuna had found themselves in the odd situation of being tucked into the mask room to complete the draft of Heka. They had planned to make the mixture in the kitchen, as you do, but Victor (and if they were honest, Fabian’s) sudden re-arrival had scared them into leaving a none saying they’d gone to a party and scampering into the tunnels. Now they sat on the dreaded Seket board along with a chalice of blood, a chord of rope, a glowing lotus blossom and a big old clay bowl. 

Patricia could honestly say that this wasn’t how she had imagined spending her holiday. 

After a few minutes of silence, Nina seemed to finally re-engage with the world. 

“Right..so I guess we just put the vessel on the heat and add the ingredients?” she asked hesitantly.

Since nobody seemed to have a better idea, K.T heaved the dish onto the stove, turned the dial to medium. Patricia picked up the blood, ready to slosh it in, but before she could, Eddie called out to stop her.

“Hold on …Patricia.” he warned. She shifted uncomfortably, trying to ignore how strange her full name sounded on his lips. To cover this up she raised an eyebrow judgementally.

“I have this feeling we should add them in the order of the riddle. And Nina should probably be the one to handle them…” he explained. Around the circle, Joy and Jerome nodded. 

“What was first?” K.T asked, hand hovering over the assortment of ingredients. 

“Bind with the one who twines life with death…to find the first ingredient follow the path of Set” Joy recited duteously. In response, K.T handed the flax over to her right where Nina sat. The girl looked dubious for a second, before dropping the rope into the bowl. 

Nothing happened.

“I guess we try the next one?” she muttered, almost to herself. “Though we already have the Vessel with the One who created all..”

Everyone looked expectantly to Joy, but it was Jerome who chanted out “ Let your mind be touched and your problems be gone…find the sensen that blooms at dawn.”

Accordingly, Nine placed the lotus blossom on top of the flax. 

“Now it’s ‘the blood that will not fall’, right?” Patricia queried. 

Eddie nodded, and she handed over the silver chalice to Nina, who poured the blood into the vessel. There seemed to be far more blood than the small goblet should have been able to hold, but when it ran dry there was still no reaction.

Sibuna gathered closer around the vessel, staring at the unappetising mixture of blood-soaked rope and petals. Nina crinkled up her nose in disgust, before flicking open the locket around her neck. The dim room seemed to brighten slightly as she extracted carefully the tear of gold. Balancing the teardrop delicately on her fingertip, she shared a hopeful glance with the rest of Sibuna. Then, she let it drop.

The result was instantaneous. The second the golden liquid hit the potions surface it began to froth and foam. As the friends rapidly backed away the mixture seemed to let off a great gush of purple steam, which twisted and turned in to air before solidifying into the definitive shape of a falcon. The bird swooped around the room, wings brushing silently over the shoulders of it’s inhabitants, before taking a sudden dive back into the vessel. As soon as it did so, all sound or smoke emptied from the room, and Sibuna was left only in silence. 

Nina was the first to step forward, Eddie a second behind her. As the rest of the gang gathered, she lifted the vessel off Alfie’s home cooker, holding it out for them all to see. The bowl was filled, almost to the brim, with a potion of deep royal blue. 

Almost robotically, Patricia lifted her right hand to her eye. 

“Sibuna,” she whispered, and drew strength from the voices of her friends around her.


	16. A decision is made

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> K.T is supportive, Nina makes a choice and Patricia gets angry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing belongs to me.

Unsurprisingly, there was a long pause after Patricia’s whisper. K.T looked over to where Nina stood, chin held high and shoulders set back. Her gaze caught on Eddie’s hand, which seemed to have drifted unconsciously to circle the girl’s wrist. His broad fingers dwarfed her slim bones as usual-the protector and the protected. Looking closer though, K.T now noticed something was different. Previously, Nina had seemed to be trapped-whether by her doubts or sickness K.T didn’t know, but there had been some kind of barrier around her. Now that barrier seemed more like a shell, and when she caught the eyes of Sibuna’s leader she realised the girl was planning on breaking it. 

“I want you all to head back into the house.” Nina finally announced, voice firm even if her expression was kind. 

There was immediate uproar, the loudest voice of course being Eddie’s, but K.T kept her silence, watching and waiting. Once everyone had realised the Chosen One wasn’t responding, they quietened down, turning hurt and pleading eyes on her. Nina took a deep breath before speaking again.

“I need you all to listen very carefully, and I need you to do what I say. Both Eddie and I must drink the draft, but there’s nothing about doing so at the same time. I have the best track record for coming back from the dead, so if anything goes wrong it’s happening to me.”

At this point, Eddie tried to interject, but Joy stomped firmly on his foot. He trailed off with a muffled cry of pain. Nina shot her a grateful smile.

“If something goes wrong, there’s every chance I’ll explode just like I have been each night. The tunnels should shield the house from the blast, but just in case I don’t want anyone in the anti-chamber. If all goes well, I’ll be up in ten minutes and Eddie can drink his share.”

She looked as though she wanted to add something else, but pursed her lips instead. K.T shared a look with Alfie, who looked to Jerome. The blonde boy nodded. 

“We’ll see you in ten minutes then.” Patricia stated confidently, clapping Nina hard on the shoulder. K.T saw that her eyes had rimmed with red, but she knew the redhead would obey her friend’s wishes.

“Wait, no-you can’t seriously expect us to go along with this?! Nina? Nina come on?!” Eddie protested. 

With pre-co-ordinated grace, Jerome and Alfie each grabbed on of the boy’s arms, firmly steering him out of the Seket room. 

“Let-let go-let go of me! Sparky you can’t be serious! Sparky-”

The boy’s cries were cut off as he was pulled out of earshot. K.T turned back to Nina who was gazing glassily down the tunnel. The girl seemed to allow herself a few seconds of guilt before straightening up and turning to her friend.

“Whatever happens, whatever Eddie says, you must not let him drink that potion if anything goes wrong with me.”

“I’m not sure I can-”

“I need you to swear it to me K.T. Don’t let him drink it. Please…” Nina’s voice cracked on the last syllable, and K.T’s heart cracked with it.

“Whatever happens. I swear.”

*****

“You have to let me back there- I need to get to her if something goes wrong, Jerome please! Joy-Joy tell him?! “

“She’s going to be fine Eddie,” Joy soothed, “just two more minutes now okay? Two minutes and then she’ll come upstairs.”

Alfie kept one eye on Eddie as he continued to struggle, determined to stop him if he made a break for the cellar door. He wasn’t entirely sure why Nina was so desperate to get them out of there, but he had known the look in his friends eyes. It was the look that came before stealing from Victor’s office, before entering a haunted attic, before threatening demons thousands of years old. And he wasn’t going to argue with it. 

He glanced back down at his phone, waiting for the picture search to load. Somehow, deep inside, Alfie knew that Senkhara’s bead had something to do with Fabian’s recent behaviour. He had a feeling that if he could just find that link, they might be able to get the boy back to normal.

“It’s been ten minutes!” Eddie growled. “Either you let go of me right now Jerome, or I swear to whatever god is listening, I will break your arm.”

Or as normal as anyone in this house really was. Meeting Jerome’s questioning look, he shrugged his shoulders. Ten minutes has passed, and he was as eager as anyone else to check on their friend. 

The second Jerome loosened his grip on Eddie, the boy shook him off and wrenched open the cellar door. At the same time, a quiet beep sounded from Alfie’s phone. He flicked his eyes downwards, but his friends were already heading into the basement, trepidation clear in their steps. Instead of reading the now loaded information, Alfie quickly hit a few buttons to send it to the only person he trusted outside of the room. 

“Just a precaution” he told himself, before following Sibuna down the rickety stairs.

***

_Nina listened as K.T’s footsteps faded away. Once there was only silence, she turned again to the iridescent liquid filling the vessel. As the smoke hawk had passed over her, her premonition had grown stronger. Now she was near certain. Robert may have been a wise man, but this was bigger than him now, bigger than anything she had handled before. The gods were manipulating her situation-for what reason she did not know, but her friends would not be used as puppets. It would be her, and only her, who would be following this path._

The chaos she had been sensing for so long crooned as she stepped towards the bowl. For a second she doubted herself, wished her friends could have heard what she heard and known what she knew. But then that wish blew away into the wind, for she would never, could never, curse her friends in that way.

“Here goes nothing..” she thought dryly, lifting the potion to her lips. 

She drank, and then there was nothing, and she was falling…down  
Down  
Down

***

Joy raced along the tunnels behind Eddie, desperately trying to keep in step with the boy. Behind her she could hear the others feet pounding alongside, and with that, the rising sense of panic. Somehow, each of them could feel that something was very, very wrong. 

As she carefully crossed the chasm, Eddie sprinted onwards. Joy could feel her heart beating out of her chest, but when she heard a roar like a wounded animal from up ahead, she put on a new burst of speed. She skidded into the mask room only to feel as though she had been wrenched in two.

Eddie had thrown himself desperately to he floor, the bowl of potion innocently intact beside him. His whole body was curled like a question mark, and the answer lay pale and lifeless in his arms, lips already blue. 

Joy felt herself let out a sob as Jerome and Alfie drew to a stop beside her,, Patricia close behind. She could hear K.T’s footfalls as well, but they weren’t slowing. The curly haired teen careered into the chamber, eyes immediately surveying the situation. When they alighted Nina’s body, there was a brief flash of sorrow and determination. Then she seemed to lose control of her limbs, stumbling further forwards. Before Joy could even shout a warning, K.T’s foot had collided with the vessel containing the draft, spilling the blue liquid everywhere. As each droplet hit the ground, it evaporated, until there was nothing left.

There was a split second of disbelieving silence as even Eddie stared astounded at the damage. The girl seemed to brace herself for a torrent of abuse, hiking her shoulders up to her ears and folding in on herself. Then, Sibuna’s attention was once again diverted as Patricia cried out.

“Nina!”

Joy’s gaze whipped back to her friend. Where previously only her lips had seemed to hold the cold tinge of death, now the blue was spreading through her whole body. It darkened and solidified, until the girl was the same colour as the potion had been. Then, without warning, she vanished-evaporating just as the potion had.

She heard Jerome’s roar as she herself screamed, tears flooding her eyes. Eddie clutched at the space where his Chosen One had been, but there was now only empty air. He was still kneeling. As the sobs wracked her body, Joy felt herself sinking to join him. 

***

_They were cackling. He could hear them in the back of his mind and knew it must be done. A part of his heart seemed to shake the ice-cold chains that encapsulated it, only to be pierced and fade._

Groggily, he continued through the halls into his room. The side of his mind they allowed to be present reminded him that Victor was still conspicuously absent, as he so often was at times like this. The side of his mind they didn’t control told him Victor had probably sensed the danger and fled like the coward he was. He threw back his bedcovers and crawled in, allowing himself a small smile of satisfaction when he was met with nothing small or round. 

He had learned to keep these thoughts in compartments now, spread out in the places they had no interest. In one of these compartments was the answer to his freedom-easily found with a quick google search. Ancient beings didn’t seem to realise the ease of information access these days, and as long as he stored it in a memory they didn’t care about, they would never know. He only hoped the others would realise the same-find out with the ease he had. All he needed was someone to free him, and then finally, finally he would be able to help.

***

Her bag slides slightly to the left as the taxi takes a sharp turn. She stretches out a manicured hand to pull it back into place at her side, legs crossed delicately at the ankle. Nervously she smoothes down her skirt-it’s been too long, this journey, and now the fears are getting to her. Yet bravery is what her destination breeds, what it taught her in the first place. She’s needed, and she’s braver than she knows, so of course she’ll carry on.

Her phone beeps with a personalised message alert and she flicks the screen open. Skimming the information contained within, she feels her jaw clench. Re-reading it once more to double check, she leans forward to speak to the driver. 

They’ll be needing to make a quick stop. 

***

Eddie wasn’t sure that he was breathing. There was a strong possibility he had stopped altogether, and he wasn’t entirely sure he cared. His arms were still cradling empty air, and every time he blinked he saw Nina’s blank face staring back at him. Perhaps it was better if he simply…stopped.

A hand was tentatively placed on his shoulder, drawing him out of his own head. He looked up. Patricia stood behind him, face shining with tears. He met her eyes, and was surprised to see a fire behind them, a blazing fury he had never seen before.

“We don’t have time to be sad.” his ex-girlfriend hissed. “Get. Angry.”

So Eddie did.

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to try posting this on Ao3 as this is the site I prefer to read on, and assume other people feel the same. As you can probably tell, it's my first on Ao3 (and coincidentally, FF.net) for a minor fandom, so please go easy on me. Also, don't hesitate to let me know anything I ought to tag for.


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